Melach Coconut Processing

What the company does and why

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.

The impact

Melach buys coconuts from around 200 organically certified small-scale farmers. Melach provides training and mentoring to these farmers. Cooperation with Woord en Daad opens up the possibility of more specific programmes for the farmers. A programme on reforestation is also under way.

Many young people in Ghana choose to work in polluting industries such as mining. By paying fair prices and encouraging communities, Melach prevents this.

Melach excels in adding value to the whole coconut. This makes the company an emerging leader in the sector and play a pioneering role in (re)building this value chain. With a focus on agro-ecological agriculture, Melach can contribute to a sector that is healthy in the long term and more resilient to the effects of climate change. Melach is already partnering with the Ghanaian government, which wants to reduce its dependence on (monocropping) cocoa.