Olam Agri Ghana has commissioned a 40-million-dollar pasta manufacturing facility at Kpone in the Greater Accra Region aimed at reducing Ghana’s reliance on imported pasta by up to 40 percent.
The plant, inaugurated by President John Dramani Mahama, forms part of broader efforts to accelerate industrialisation, promote import substitution and strengthen food security in the country.
Mr Sunny George Verghese, Group Chief Executive Officer of Olam Agri, said during the inauguration that Ghana remained a strategic hub for the company’s operations in Africa and was the second market the company entered on the continent after Nigeria.
He said Olam Agri’s mission is to produce more food, feed and fibre to meet the needs of a growing global population while ensuring that agricultural expansion did not harm the environment.
“Our mission is to produce more food, feed and fibre to meet the needs of a growing population, while ensuring that this expansion does not destroy the planet but safeguards biodiversity, water resources and the environment for future generations,” he said.
Mr Verghese highlighted major challenges facing global agriculture, including a widening demand gap estimated at about 7.5 trillion calories per day, biodiversity loss and the need to improve the livelihoods of farmers.
He emphasised the need for stronger collaboration between governments and the private sector to address these challenges.
Mr Verghese also noted that Ghana’s role as a regional hub could become critical in meeting Africa’s food security needs and commended the country’s progress in wheat production, which he described as a potential game changer for the food industry.
He said the company is committed to balancing production expansion with sustainability, ensuring that food, feed and fibre were produced without compromising biodiversity, water resources or the environment.
Mr Verghese expressed appreciation to Ghanaian farmers, suppliers, customers and the Government for their partnership with the company, noting that Olam works with about 5.4 million farmers globally in efforts to build a sustainable agricultural future.
Available data shows that between 2021 and 2024 Ghana imported pasta valued at about 140 million dollars, making the country the second largest pasta importer in Africa after Togo.
Mr Neelamani Muthukumar, Chief Finance Officer of Olam Agri Ghana, said the facility is completed within 18 months and had the capacity to produce 60,000 metric tonnes of pasta annually.
He explained that the plant would meet nearly half of Ghana’s domestic pasta demand.
“This means we can cater for about 40 percent of Ghana’s pasta requirement,” he said.
Mr Muthukumar added that the facility is equipped with modern machinery sourced from leading equipment manufacturers and designed to meet international production standards.
He said the project had created about 300 direct jobs and nearly 1,000 indirect employment opportunities within the Tema industrial corridor.
“With government support and private sector innovation, Ghana is poised to rewrite its food security and industrialisation narrative.
“The commissioning of Olam Agri Ghana’s pasta plant represents more than an industrial milestone. It is a bold step toward economic self-reliance, job creation and regional competitiveness,” he said.
Madam Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, described the facility as a major milestone in Ghana’s industrialisation drive.
She said the plant would help reduce imports while positioning Ghana as a potential pasta exporter within the West African sub-region.
“Every metric tonne of pasta produced in Tema is a direct import substitution, a preserved dollar in our foreign reserves and a new employment opportunity,” she said.
Madam Ofosu-Adjare noted that the transformation from trading to processing and manufacturing was the type of industrial progress the Government expected investors in Ghana to pursue.
She urged Olam Agri to ensure that local production translated into affordable prices for consumers.
“Local manufacturing must not only mean corporate profits. It must mean accessible prices for ordinary families,” she said.
The Minister also encouraged the company to collaborate with Ghana’s crop research institutions to develop wheat varieties suitable for local cultivation.
She said this would support the Government’s Feed the Industry programme, which aims to supply industries with locally produced raw materials.
