IVORYY COAST – Bolloré Transport & Logistics, a global player in the supply chain, has inaugurated a new cocoa loading station in San Pedro, south-west of Ivory Coast following one billion CFA francs (US$1.6m) investment.
The fully automated and robotised facility is aimed to speed up the loading operations and provide a smoother export process of bulk cocoa beans.
The station is the third of its kind built by the Bolloré group in the country as it continues to heighten competitiveness of the port of San Pedro, which remains the world’s leading cocoa export port.
With improvement in service delivery, the logistics expert is expected to increase boost its volume handling capacity of 30 to 50% of cocoa handled to date at the base.
By streamlining operations and fostering efficiency, it will also benefit the entire maritime transport chain (shipowners, stevedores, freight forwarding agents, carriers, etc.), in the port community of San Pedro.
For cocoa farmers, this new logistics platform will reduce the waiting time of bush trucks at the factories where the cocoa is prepared for export, improve rotation and increase productivity.
In particular, it will make Côte d’Ivoire even more attractive as the world’s largest cocoa producer with over 2 million tonnes.
“With this new loading station, Bolloré Transport & Logistics Côte d’Ivoire is pursuing its action plan to modernise its logistics tools and support the development of the agricultural sectors that are the flagships of the Ivorian economy.
“Thanks to our expertise and long experience, we are able to provide concrete answers to the logistical issues of our exporting customers and to accompany them efficiently,” said Joël Hounsinou, Managing Director of Bolloré Transport & Logistics Côte d’Ivoire.
Through this investment, and now with three loading stations dedicated to cocoa built by Bolloré Transport & Logistics, including two in the port area of Abidjan, the company is consolidating its leadership in the logistics of agricultural products.
Its value-generating activities have also created 100 direct jobs and 1,000 indirect jobs.
The investment is undertaken at an opportune time as the West African nation is expected to register a rise in cocoa production in the on-going season.
According to International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), since the start of the 2021/22 cocoa year, Ivory Coast is reported to have overtaken last season’s level at 1.340 million tonnes as at 30 January, slightly up by 1.5% compared with the 1.320 million tonnes recorded at the same period of the 2020/21 season.
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