CMC Launches 24-Hour Operating Model to Accelerate Cocoa Exports

The Cocoa Marketing Company (Ghana) Limited (CMC) has officially launched a comprehensive 24-hour operational model aimed at improving the movement of cocoa across the country’s logistics and export value chain, in a major step towards the implementation of President John Dramani Mahama’s 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme.

The new operational framework, launched by the Managing Director of CMC, Wisdom Kofi Dogbey, with the support of senior government officials, the CMC Board and Management, COCOBOD and key cocoa-industry stakeholders, will extend critical cocoa operations beyond conventional working hours through three interconnected pillars: Offload 24, Load 24, and Export 24.

The launch brought together representatives of government, COCOBOD, Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs), cocoa processing companies, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Meridian Port Services, the Ghana Revenue Authority, shipping lines, hauliers, international cocoa buyers, the Quality Control Company, and other stakeholders across Ghana’s cocoa value chain.

Speaking at the launch, the Managing Director said the initiative represents a significant change in the way CMC manages cocoa logistics, warehousing, processing support, and exports.

Historically, operations at CMC Take-Over Centres including Tema, Kumasi, and Takoradi have largely followed conventional working hours. This meant that trucks arriving later in the day could sometimes wait until the following morning, while documentation and other processes could also be delayed even as ports, shipping lines, hauliers, and other parts of the logistics chain continued to operate.

“The world does not stop at 5 p.m. or 4 p.m., and neither should Ghana’s cocoa ambition,” Wisdom Kofi Dogbey said.

With the commencement of the new cocoa season, CMC is therefore transitioning towards an operational system designed to keep critical sections of the cocoa movement chain active beyond the traditional working day.

Offload 24, Load 24, Export 24

At the heart of the new model are three operational commitments designed to improve efficiency from the point cocoa arrives at CMC facilities through to processing and eventual export.

Offload 24 will enable CMC to receive cocoa from Licensed Buying Companies around the clock, helping to reduce unnecessary truck queues, waiting periods, and congestion at its operational facilities.

Load 24 will support the supply of cocoa to local processing factories beyond conventional working hours, allowing processors to make more efficient use of installed production capacity.

Export 24 will extend cocoa inspection, stuffing, sealing, documentation, and shipment preparation activities so that export processes can continue in alignment with vessel schedules and port operations.

According to the CMC Managing Director, these are not merely slogans but operational commitments intended to address longstanding inefficiencies within the cocoa logistics chain.

CMC’s Contribution to President Mahama’s 24-Hour Economy

Wisdom Kofi Dogbey described the framework as CMC’s practical contribution to President John Dramani Mahama’s vision for a 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme.

He emphasised that the 24-Hour Economy does not mean requiring individual employees to work continuously for 24 hours. Rather, it involves organising productive activity around multiple shifts so that infrastructure, human resources, and other productive assets can generate economic value beyond the traditional working day.

For CMC, the policy provides an opportunity to strengthen logistics integration, improve the movement of cocoa, support domestic processing, and ensure better coordination between warehouses, factories, ports, and international markets.

CMC believes extending its own operational capacity will therefore remove bottlenecks that can occur when one section of an otherwise active logistics chain closes.

“A chain cannot move faster than its slowest link. For too long, at certain times of the day, that link has been us. This season, we remove that constraint,” the Managing Director stated.

A Results-Driven Operating Model

CMC says implementation of the programme will be closely monitored against measurable performance indicators.

These will include truck turnaround times, volumes handled, documentation efficiency, shipment performance, safety, quality, and overall operational performance.

The Managing Director stressed that CMC was not simply introducing a policy concept but an operating system that must produce measurable outcomes.

He therefore called on Licensed Buying Companies to make use of evening delivery windows, urged cocoa processing companies to schedule trucks beyond daylight hours, and encouraged shipping lines to provide gate-in windows that align with CMC’s extended operating schedule.

He further appealed to the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, security agencies, and other stakeholders to continue collaborating with CMC as the company integrates itself more fully into the extended logistics ecosystem.

CMC employees were also challenged to embrace greater discipline, teamwork, responsiveness, and a new operational mindset.

Supporting Domestic Processing and Accelerated Exports

Beyond extending working hours, CMC says the programme represents a wider rethink of how Ghana uses its existing cocoa infrastructure and productive assets.

The company expects the model to help shorten the period between cocoa receipt, loading, and export; improve support for domestic cocoa processing; create additional economic activity; and strengthen Ghana’s competitiveness in the international cocoa market.

CMC intends, under the supervision of COCOBOD, to position itself as a pacesetter in translating the government’s 24-Hour Economy vision into measurable operational improvements within Ghana’s cocoa sector.

The Managing Director commended the implementation committee, chaired by CMC’s Deputy Managing Director in charge of Operations, Mr Jamal Konneh, together with the company’s Board, Management, staff, and COCOBOD leadership for their roles in moving the framework from concept to implementation.

Concluding his address, he said the new operating model sends a strong signal about Ghana’s readiness to improve productivity, accelerate exports, and compete more effectively within the global cocoa trade.

“Ghana is ready to work. Ghana is ready to export. Ghana is ready to compete. And CMC is ready to play its part.”

He added that CMC would receive cocoa when it arrives, supply processing factories when they require it, and prepare cocoa exports in line with vessel schedules while protecting the quality and reputation of Ghana cocoa.

The launch of Offload 24, Load 24, and Export 24 therefore marks the beginning of a new operational chapter for CMC as the company seeks to move Ghana’s cocoa faster, smarter, and more efficiently while contributing directly to the Government’s broader vision of a productive, export-driven 24-Hour Economy.

Source: 3news.com