The managing director of Samoa's sole chocolate producer says he hopes the company can relaunch itself despite a devastating fire on Sunday.
Wilex Cocoa and Coconut Products in Apia has been a Samoan business success story and just last week, their Peanut Chokky was the centrepiece of a trade aid promotion in the New Zealand capital, Wellington.
The Peanut Chokky was being launched in New Zealand and was expected to become a multi million dollar earner for Samoa
The company's managing director, Eddie Wilson, says they have lost the entire plant in the fire and it would take around one point six million US dollars to replace it.
But he says the intention is to start again.
".it is a very difficult time as you can understand, but the intention is to get back to making the Peanut Chokky and the other products and sort of pave the way for us to start exporting in larger quantities."
Eddie Wilson says witness reports seem to indicate the fire started in the public power supply outside the Apia plant.
