Cargill opens Ghana cocoa processing plant

TEMA, Ghana Nov 4 (Reuters) - Commodities trader Cargill [CARG.UL] opened a $100 million cocoa processing plant in Ghana on Tuesday and said it aimed reach full production within three months.

U.S.-based Cargill, one of the world's largest private companies, will process cocoa into butter, powder and liquor at the plant, which has initial capacity of 65,000 tonnes.

"Our plan is to try and get to full capacity as quickly as possible, latest in the next three months, in order to broaden the market with our Ghana products," said Greg Page, chief executive and chairman of Cargill Incorporated.

In an interview in August, Cargill said costs had risen to $100 million from an initial estimate of $70 million, mainly on account of importing most of its equipment from Europe.

The factory in the eastern port of Tema has the potential to expand capacity to 120,000 tonnes.

Ghana, the world's second biggest cocoa grower, intends to boost both its harvest of beans and the quantity of them refined into value-added products domestically, rather than shipped overses for processing.

Cargill has signed an agreement with Cocobod for bean supply to feed the plant.

Rival agricultural firm Archer Daniels Midland (ADM.N) is also building a processing plant in Ghana. Located in the second-largest city of Kumasi, it is expected to start working in the first quarter of 2009 with capacity of 30,000 tonnes.

For a FACTBOX of actual and planned cocoa processing facilities in Ghana, click on [ID:nLS78489]

(Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo; Editing by Daniel Magnowski)