KUMASI, GHANA — Archer Daniels Midland Co. celebrated the official opening of a new cocoa processing plant in Kumasi on Oct. 9. John Evan Atta Mills, president of Ghana, attended the ceremony along with Tony Fofie, chief executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board, and John Rice, executive vice-president of Commercial and Production for ADM, based in Decatur, Ill.

The facility sits on a 75,000-square-meter site and is comprised of a bean warehouse, a processing plant and a finished goods warehouse. Construction started in January 2008. The plant began processing cocoa beans into cocoa liquor for use in chocolate in July of this year.

"Ghana is the second largest producer of cocoa in the world," Mr. Fofie said. "This new plant will not only help Ghana maintain its reputation as a producer of premium quality cocoa but will also create new opportunities for Ghanaian cocoa farmers."