Golden Exotics Goes Organic To Improve Cash Flow

Golden Exotics Limited (GEL), the leading banana producer in West Africa, says its piloted organic farming project on a 24-hectare land has proved very successful.

The Corporate Affairs and Administrative Manager of GEL, Mr. George Kporye, who disclosed this during the inauguration of the Executive of the Local Union and Professional and Managerial and Staff Union (PMSU), said the project would help to further improve the company’s cash flow and export high quality fruits to the North European market.

Mr. Kporye said consumers were much interested in organic grown bananas because no chemical was used in growing them, and it commanded the best prices in the market. He said the pilot also proved that Ghana had the ideal growing condition for organic bananas. Mr. Kporye said in line with the company’s vision to double the size of its plantation, it had acquired additional 1,200 hectares of land near its current site. He was grateful to government for signing on to the Economic Partnership Agreement which, he said, had helped expand the export business.

“Without the EPA, there is no way that a commercial plantation like ours could continue to operate,” he said. The new executives would oversee the affairs of the unions for the next four years. GEL, established seven years ago, employs 2,000 workers.

The local union was previously under the umbrella of the General Agriculture Workers Union but the workers this year, opted to join the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union as they believe it can better meet their aspirations.

Mr. Kporye expressed gratitude to the unions for managing the transition from GAWU to ICU peacefully. He said it was the hope of management that the union would be realistic in its demands and consult both its mother union and management to be able to resolve problems peacefully. The General Secretary of ICU, Mr. Solomon Kotei, advised union executives to be conversant with the Act, Act 651, so that they would be better positioned to discharge their responsibilities efficiently. He urged the executives of the PMSU and the Local Union to co-exist peacefully and disseminate information among their memberships so that they would be empowered to take informed decisions.

Mr. Kotei thanked the workers for reposing their trust in the ICU, adding that the union would endeavour to give a fair hearing to all concerned so that its decisions would be appreciated and acceptable to all.He therefore, urged management of the company and the unions to be transparent and truthful in their dealings. The local union is chaired by Mr. Philips Akadzro, while the PMSU is chaired by Joseph K. Asare