Turkish group MFB International invests US$168M in setting up flour mill and cocoa processing units in Ivory Coast

IVORY COAST – The Turkish group MFB International has allocated 100 billion CFA francs (US$168 million) for the construction of cocoa and flour milling plants in the Ivory Coast, an initiative aimed at bolstering processing capabilities in the West African nation.

The US$74 million will be used to finance the installation of a flour mill dedicated to the production of bread flour as the country bets on stimulating the growth of the sector.

The remaining US$94 million will be allocated to the construction of a cocoa processing unit. According to Ibrahima Sy, vice-president of MFB, this new factory will have a processing capacity of 175,000 tons of beans per year.

Ivory Coast is the world’s top cocoa-producing country, accounting for 45% of the world’s cocoa supply, followed by Ghana and Indonesia.

The Ivorian Cocoa Coffee Council has plans to increase the amount of cocoa it processes domestically to 49% of production starting in October with the addition of several new plants.

Currently, about 35-40% is processed in the country and the rest is exported, but the government has a goal of increasing that to at least 50%.

Two weeks ago, Puratos, a global leader in innovative food ingredients, officially launched its cutting-edge chocolate facility in Ivory Coast to enable it to reach its goal of sustainable cocoa production.

One of the key objectives of the Ivory Coast chocolate facility is to establish a transparent and traceable supply chain. Moreover, the facility will serve as a hub for research and development, fostering innovation and driving progress in the chocolate industry.

The country is also in contract with the United Arab Emirates for the construction of a new plant in San Pedro with a grinding capacity of 120,000 tonnes and China for the construction of two factories with a production capacity of 50,000 tonnes each.

The new plants will allow the country to process more than 1 million tonnes of cocoa annually, making it the world’s leading cocoa grinder.

The investments in the cocoa sector confirm the projection of ultimate growth for the key raw material for chocolate and some beverage drinks.

As the chocolate Market size is expected to grow from US$111,968.34 million in 2023 to USD 133,176.10 million by 2028, at a CAGR of 3.53% during the forecast period (2023-2028), per Mordor Intelligence, the Cocoa Beans Market size is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 6.81% during the same period to reach US$22.44 billion by 2028.

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