Fan Milk Ghana, a Danone company that operates in the diary and beverage industry, has been urged to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to expand its operations on the African continent to create jobs and meet continental demand.
The Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry, and Agribusiness, Mr Sampson Ahi, who said this at the launch of Fan Milk PLC’s 65th anniversary celebration on Friday under the theme, “65 Years of Spreading Joy”, indicated that trade among African countries remained very low.
“We are not trading among ourselves, even as African countries, and we still have huge markets that we need to explore. So, I was just trying to challenge them [Fan Milk Ghana] that even though they have performed very well in Ghana, they should try and expand to our sister countries,” Mr Ahi said.
According to him, Fan Milk Ghana’s investment in waste water treatment, biomass, boilers, and solar energy systems was setting a new benchmark in sustainable manufacturing.
Such a benchmark, Mr Ahi said, was not only admirable but aligned with the country’s commitment to green industrialisation and climate resilience.
Mr Ahi stated that the regional presence of Fan Milk Ghana and its operational strength put the company in a prime position to benefit from AfCFTA.
He, therefore, commended the company for its innovativeness, profound impact, inclusivity, and job creation that had driven the economic growth of the country while pledging government’s support to companies like Fan Milk PLC through its 24-hour economy policy.
The Managing Director of Fan Milk Ghana and Francos, Mr Lionel Parent, described the company’s journey in the past three decades as both fantastic and challenging as it had gone through ups and downs moments, especially during the Covid-19 period.
Mr Parent said that the company intended to build Ghana as a powerful export hub to drive employment and create 20,000 street vendors daily to help support the economy of the country, local income, and empower individuals to grow and invest.
“Fan Milk Ghana is still owned at 40 per cent by Ghanaians. Today, we announced that we are paying GH¢9.3 million dividend, and that is GH¢ 9.3 million going straight into the pockets of people living here as they can use it for their pensions, school fees for their children and medical bills,” Mr Parent said.
According to him, although the company was present in some African countries, it was looking forward to expanding to other African countries it did not exist.
Mr Parent said that Fan Milk Ghana was committed to sustainability as it had programmes that were aimed at transitioning the entire ecosystem to a solar system.
He said that Fan Milk Ghana had a good relation with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), adding that, “We have increased the tax we pay. We also paid GH¢250 million last year.”
The General Manager, Danone Sub-Saharan Africa, Mr Hendrik Born, said the anniversary launch was a recommitment to the mission of Fan Milk Ghana of bringing health through food to as many people as possible.
BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY
