Togo: New Premium Cocoa Centre Opens in Mpoti

Agriculture

Tuesday, 02 June 2026 18:08

Togo: New Premium Cocoa Centre Opens in Mpoti

(Togo First) - Togo has opened a second post-harvest processing centre for premium cocoa, with authorities this week inaugurating the facility in Mpoti, in the Blitta 3 commune.

The infrastructure, developed by the Coordination Committee for Coffee and Cocoa Sectors (CCFCC), aims to improve bean quality and strengthen the position of Togolese cocoa in premium and niche markets.

The centre was financed with €50,000 (about 32.8 million CFA francs) from the association Chocolatiers et Pâtissiers du Monde and France's Yvelines department. Built on a one-hectare site, it includes a storage warehouse with a five-tonne capacity, a fermentation hall equipped with 42 boxes, a drying area with 16 tables, as well as office and accommodation facilities.

The inauguration comes weeks after a similar centre was opened in Kessibo-Abréwankor, in Wawa prefecture. Together, the two facilities are expected to support Togo's strategy of increasing the value added to its cocoa production.

According to Enselme Gouthon, secretary-general of the CCFCC, the Mpoti centre is expected to produce 25 tonnes of premium cocoa during its first year of operation. Over the longer term, the initiative aims to help producers access niche market segments that offer more stable premiums and higher returns than conventional commodity markets.

For the French partners, the project should also help raise awareness of Togolese cocoa among European chocolatiers. Producers have already received training in fermentation and drying techniques to meet the quality standards required by specialist buyers.

R.E.D.

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