The Produce Buying Company (PBC) is embarking on major cuts in administrative expenses to sustain the company’s operations.
It follows the company’s losses for yet another time as at December 2017.
PBC recorded a loss after tax of 22.4 million cedis in 2017; up from the 15.92 million cedis recorded the preceding year.
A development the company attributed to the high cost in securing new funds and the destruction of shea nuts due to lack of processing equipment.
The CEO of the Company, Kofi Owusu Boateng tells Citi Business News reducing some avoidable expenditure such as fuel and staff welfare, should bring the company back on a strong financial footing.
“One of the reasons is the inadequate funding; we do not have enough money to purchase cocoa. In addition, there are other natural phenomena that have worked against our operations. For instance, for the shea nuts we bought last season, the machines were not working so we had to keep the nuts in the storage facility for a longer period. Because they are perishable products, for the long time that we were not using them, they got rotten and we had to reduce the prices in selling them which made us record some losses,” he stated.
Mr. Owusu Boateng added, “There are certain measures we have taken to correct this situation; including reducing medicals, fuel consumption and so many administrative costs that otherwise had shored up the cost of running the office.”
PBC also complained of the impact the continued reliance on loans from COCOBOD which always left it with interests to pay on loans.
PBC is also hopeful that the implementation of recommendations suggested by audit firm, Ernst & Young in its assessment, should boost operational efficiency.
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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
