Some of the trucks
Management of Royal Commodities (ROCO), a Licensed Cocoa Buying Company (LBC) has taken delivery of over 30 new trucks funded by GCB Bank to ensure efficient internal purchases of cocoa beans across the cocoa-growing regions in the country.Â
The trucks will help in primary and secondary evacuation of cocoa from the farm gates to depots.
The move comes two months after ROCO launched its operations in the Volta Region with a promise to use electronic weighing scales to ensure that farmers were not cheated by unsuspecting purchasing clerks.
Presenting the keys to Management of ROCO at a brief ceremony, Nana Antwi Boasiako, Acting Head of Corporate Banking, GCB Bank, praised the long standing partnership that had existed between his outfit and ROCO and described ROCO as a loyal and dedicated LBC.
He stated that GCB Bank was able to support ROCO to purchase about 15,000 metric tons of cocoa last year.
He expressed optimism that the new trucks would support the company’s operations further to increase their internal cocoa purchases.
‘This year, we were able to support LBCs with about GH¢754million. We are by far, the biggest financier of major LBCs in the country. This is what makes us a dependable partner in promoting a sustainable cocoa economy, he added.
Receiving the keys, Alhaji Abdulzakou Adamou, Managing Director of ROCO described GCB Bank as a dependable partner who had supported their numerous business conglomerates for more than two decades.
Alhaji Adamou assured that the trucks would be used for the intended purposes as the company planned to widen its internal operations to ensure efficiency.
Mr. Emmanuel Opoku, Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Operations at the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) commended ROCO for the initiative to beef up their fleet of trucks.
Mr Opoku hinted that with the introduction of several productivity enhancement programmes, cocoa production was expected to increase and that the coming of the trucks was very timely.
He, however, called on drivers to observe road safety measures to prolong the life span of the truck.
ROCO Gets Electronic Cocoa Weighing Scales
In a related development, ROCO has taken delivery of over 200 pieces of electronic weighing scales for cocoa purchases in an effort to address allegations of scale adjustment.
Alhaji Adamou mentioned that, as part of on-going restructuring in the company’s operations, management of ROCO had introduced some innovations which included extending its operations and the adoption of electronic weighing scales for cocoa purchases.
‘We believe the move will eliminate cheating tendencies; allay fears; boost trust, as well as ensure the payment of exact producer price to our hardworking cocoa farmers in the country’, he indicated.
Alhaji Adamou added that the introduction of the electronic weighing scales would make the company the preferred LBC in Ghana as ROCO affirmed its commitment to phase out all manual platform scales from its operations within the next two years.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi