Barry Callebaut acquires Nyonkopa in Ghana

Company says move is an effort to cover growing customer need for sustainable and traceable cocoa from Ghana.

Barry Callebaut has acquired Nyonkopa Cocoa Buying Company Ltd. in Ghana.

Nyonkopa is among the top ten private Licensed Buying Companies in Ghana authorized by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to buy cocoa from farmers and to sell it to the Cocoa Marketing Company of the COCOBOD. The COCOBOD oversees the cocoa sector in Ghana, including quality control, sales and marketing.

Nyonkopa Cocoa was founded in 2012 and became operational in the 2013/14 crop season. The company, which has a strong buying network, has about 100 employees and 600 purchasing clerks and is buying cocoa from more than 10,000 cocoa farmers spread across 34 districts in Ghana’s main cocoa regions.

Growing customer demand for sustainable, traceable cocoa from Ghana

Nyonkopa will be integrated into the Biolands Group, Barry Callebaut’s direct sourcing organization, which is already set up in Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania.

“Nyonkopa will give us access to thousands of Ghanaian farmers at farm level and enable us to source directly from them and provide them with farm services,” Antoine de Saint-Affrique, Barry Callebaut’s ceo, says. “This is fully in line with our strategy to make cocoa farming more sustainable and attractive to farmers and our approach to focus on farmer productivity and community development.”

He adds that acquiring Nyonkopa will support Barry Callebaut’s commitment to CocoaAction in Ghana.

“This step will enable us to satisfy the growing need of our customers for sustainable and traceable cocoa specifically from Ghana so they can meet the sustainability commitments they have made towards their consumers,” he says. “The acquisition of Nyonkopa will furthermore support Barry Callebaut and our customers commitment to CocoaAction in Ghana.”

Crystal Lindell, Former editor-in-chief of Candy Industry Magazine. While here she has worked on Candy Industry Magazine, Food Engineering Magazine and Food Safety Strategies. She holds a master’s degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois – Springfield and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Western Illinois University. And her favorite breakfast is a cup of espresso and Twix bar.