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Barry Callebaut has announced the ground breaking of a new cocoa bean warehouse in Malaysia, as it enters into a long-term partnership with Maersk. The partnership will see Danish shipping and logistics company Maersk and the chocolate giant build and operate the new cocoa bean warehousing and dispatching facility. The warehouse is designed to support Barry Callebaut’s strategic growth to continue providing its cocoa and chocolate products and services to its customers in Malaysia and the Asia Pacific region. The ‘Built-To-Suit’ facility is also part of Maersk's ambition to expand its current ocean and landside logistics service into an integrated end-to-end logistics solution for its customer base. Once complete, the new multi-storey facility – located in the Johor Bahru district in southern Malaysia – will be “one of the largest” cocoa bean warehouses in Southeast Asia. The facility will span over 500,000 square feet and incorporate a “fit-for-purpose” design that prioritises operational efficiency. It is also located 1 kilometre away from Barry Callebaut’s cocoa processing factory in Pasir Gudang, Malaysia. It will be equipped with new technologies and sustainable solutions such as solar panel roofs, LED lights and natural ventilation, all which help to improve the environmental footprint. Since January 2022, Maersk has connected Barry Callebaut's supply chain from cocoa growing origins in Africa to the factories in the Asia Pacific region, through ocean and landside logistics service. Elie Fouché, VP of cocoa for region Asia Pacific at Barry Callebaut, said: "Barry Callebaut has operated in Asia Pacific since 1997 and we continue to invest in this region. We are excited to evolve our long-term partnership with Maersk to enhance the resilience of our supply chain. The new warehouse allows us to have better control over our cocoa bean qualities and this ultimately supports our ambitious growth plans in the region." Elaine Low, area managing director at Maersk Southeast Asia, said: "We are pleased that Barry Callebaut has chosen us as the long-term logistics partner, and the enhanced warehousing and dispatching facility is essential to help them rapidly respond to the changing market conditions…Our strength of integrated service offerings will continue to help Barry Callebaut achieve greater efficiency within their supply chain.” The warehousing and dispatching facility is expected to be completed by the end of Q2 2024.