Credible information available to The Chronicle suggests that the demand for Ekumfi fruits and juices (Ekujuice) in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi, has exceeded supply, causing shortage of the product on the market.
A pack of the product, which contains 24 pieces of the juice has been increased from a retail price of GHC 62.00 to GHC72.00, representing a 16 percent increment.
The Ekumfi Fruits and Juice Limited is under the 1D1F initiative. Investigation conducted by The Chronicle in Kumasi and the Greater Kumasi area has established that the Ekumfi products are indeed scarce on the market.
In a working visit to a leading shopping outlet in the Garden City, called Poku Trading, it came to light that they have run short of the product for about three weeks.
Mama Yaa, one of the managers, confirmed that indeed they do not have some of the Ekumfi products in stock. She further noted that the company is unable to adequately supply the market with their products.
MaaYaa, therefore, appealed to the manufacturers of the Ekumfi Fruits and Juices to double production because people like the product.
A Pharmacist also told this reporter that he likes Ekujiuce, after it was introduced to him by a friend, but getting it on the market is a major problem.
There is a suspicion that some unscrupulous people want to kill the success story of the product, but head of Operations at the Ekumfi Fruits and Juices Ltd, Mr. Kobena Acquah has denied these allegations. According to him, what they are experiencing is not scarcity, but an increase in demand for the Ekumfi product.
According to Mr Kobena Acquah all their raw materials are locally produced and their production (example pineapple) takes time to grow.
Mr Acquah further told The Chronicle that after the production of the final product, they keep it for at least forty days before releasing them onto the market.
Asked about their operational capacity per day, Acquah explained that “At the moment, we are supposed to be producing about 50,000 to 80,000 fruits per day.
Responding to a question about how Ekumfi Fruits and Juices Ltd intend to meet their increasing demand, he said they are producing quality products which are devoid of adulteration and that they just don’t want to rush.
He noted that currently, the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), through the out grower value chain, is supporting the factory to grow more pineapples, a development he noted, will see them hitting about 5,000 acres of pineapple farms in Ekumfi.
This, he continued, is a projection which they intend to do in the third and fifth year since the company started production.
He disclosed to The Chronicle that the factory, which is operating under half capacity, has employed about 400 people on the farms and 65 workers in the factory.
The post Ekumfi Fruits failing to meet high market demand appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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