Government to boost cocoa production on stock market - John Kumah
22nd February 2022
The Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr. John Ampontuah Kumah, has hinted that the Akufo-Addo led government is committed to increasing the local consumption of cocoa.
According to the Ejisu MP, the government is also putting up measures to increase the country’s capacity to process cocoa locally.
He has thus, expressed worries over the current earnings on cocoa which were just around $2 billion, adding there is the need to focus on value addition to boost the economy.
He said the current national installed cocoa processing capacity is around 544,000 tonnes, adding that, some of the cocoa processing factories are operating below their capacities.
Speaking at the Chocolatarium Business Summit organised by the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) as part of the second edition of the National Chocolate Week in Accra, the Deputy Minister, called for value addition of the country’s cocoa beans to fully benefit from the $130-billion global market.
The Ejisu MP noted that "If you add what our artisanal producers are also doing, then the need for a strategic focus becomes clearer".
He added, "The key commitment of Government is to invest more in the lives of cocoa farmers and their output, while also expanding local infrastructure to refine our cocoa products. As the son of cocoa farmers, I recognize the importance of leveraging cocoa to improve our fortunes as a nation."
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Mr. Yofi Grant, said despite being one of the world’s largest cocoa producers in the world, Ghana did not earn much from cocoa due to the inability of the country to add value to cocoa.
He said the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) offered a fine platform for players in the artisanal cocoa sector to increase their operation.
Mr Grant urged financial institutions to allocate part of their portfolios to support companies to enter into cocoa processing.
The CEO of GTA, Mr Akwasi Agyemang, said the objective of GTA was to highlight the health benefits of cocoa to boost the consumption of the product.
The event which was under Ghana CARES Obaatan Pa Programme sought to promote and support local businesses in the cocoa value chain.
The event allowed stakeholders to explore the business of chocolate in Ghana.