Golden Exotic Company Limited, a leading producer of bananas under the Ghana Free Zones enclave, has announced an ambitious target to produce and export approximately 120,000 tonnes of bananas in the 2024 fiscal year. This represents a significant increase from the 99,000 tonnes achieved in 2023.
As the largest banana producer in Ghana, accounting for about 90% of the country’s banana exports, Golden Exotic is poised to bounce back from the recent Akosombo dam spillage disaster, which resulted in a loss of approximately 1.825 million Euros.
Speaking to members of the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ), who visited the company as part of activities to mark world Press Freedom Day, the head Corporate Affairs and Administration, Mark Achel, said despite the setback, the company remains committed to its mission, operating on a vast 2,000-hectare farm with over 4,000 employees. Golden Exotic takes pride in producing its own organic manure, generating an impressive 10,000 tonnes of compost annually.
As a major investor in Ghana’s banana industry, Golden Exotic’s 2023 export figures stood at 99,000 tonnes, comprising 24,000 tonnes of organic bananas and 75,000 tonnes of conventional bananas.
In 2014, the company commenced the planting of organic bananas, and at an average of 100 hectares per year it could now boast 600 hectares which was currently one of the largest in the world, while its conventional farms kept expanding.
With its sights set on the 2024 target, Golden Exotic is poised to continue its dominance in Ghana’s banana exports, driving economic growth and sustainability in the industry.
Since the company’s inception, it had undertaken its corporate social responsibility in the areas of education, health, economic wellbeing, among others, in the communities where it operated.
In the past two decades, the company had embraced technologies ranging from the use of smart phone and bar code scanners in the field, to drones, in the fields of precision agriculture and traceability of its products in line with commitment to remain productive and competitive.
The theme for this year’s World Press Freedom Day is “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the face of the environmental crisis”.
This theme focuses on the crucial role of journalism in addressing the current global environmental crisis, which includes climate change, biodiversity loss, and air pollution.
The facility visit was made possible by the UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce, where Golden Exotic is a member.
The UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce (UKGCC) was established in 2016, with the support of the UK Government’s Department for International Trade (DIT), as a member-based trade association to facilitate and promote bilateral trade between the UK and Ghana via the three platforms of networking, advocacy and trade services.
