The coconut oil industry is dominated by (middlemen) traders and mass producers from the Philippines, Indonesia and India. Primeval forest is often cut down to make space for plantations
Ghana is a small player in the coconut oil market. There are also plenty of coconut palms, without primary forests having to make way for them. Some of the coconuts are not harvested, while others are taken out of the country by buyers from neighbouring countries. Melach Coconut Processing Farm sees opportunities in this.
The company uses the whole coconut. The main product is coconut oil. This is obtained by pressing the copra, the dried pulp. About 35% of the coconut's weight provides the main product. The rest is fibre and husk. From this, Melach makes Potash (raw material for soap), chicken feed and charcoal. This way, value is also created from the residual streams.
The oil is mainly processed into shampoo and soap, for both the local market and for export. The oil is also sold as a food. Besides the oil, coconut milk is a product with a lot of potential. Our investment is partly used to further develop this production.
Many young people in Ghana choose to work in polluting industries such as mining, for example. By offering fair prices, a good place to work and encouraging communities, Melach provides an alternative for these young people.
Melach has knowledge and experience in adding value to the whole coconut. This allows the company to be a leader in the sector and to be at the forefront of (re)building this value chain. With a focus on agro-ecological farming, Melach can
contribute to a sector that is also healthy in the long term and more resilient to the effects of climate change. In this, Melach seeks cooperation with the Ghanaian government, which wants to reduce its dependence on (monocropping) cocoa.
Although the company is making good strides, Melach still has some way to go to achieve the right product-market combinations.
As a committed shareholder, we therefore think along at the strategic level and use our knowledge and experience to help the company move forward on its chosen path.
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