Bryan Acheampong
A two-day stakeholder workshop aimed at interrogating a feasibility study of establishing an African Cocoa Exchange has ended in Accra.
The study commissioned by the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO), will among others provide the platform to select eligible countries namely Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Cameroun and Nigeria to host the African Cocoa Exchange market yet to be established apart from existing ones in New York and London.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong said the workshop marked the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Africa’s cocoa Industry with an opportunity to revolutionize the cocoa supply chain for delivery of greater value to all actors.
According to the Minister, Ghana’s Commodity Exchange (GCX) established to create an orderly, transparent, and efficient marketing system for Ghana’s key commodities has already made remarkable progress by trading in spots in over 50,000 metric tons of grains such as maize, paddy rice, soya, and sorghum backed by six warehouses across the country.
He said Ghana could therefore offer lessons to the ICCO as its undergoing through a similar process for the establishment of an African Cocoa Exchange.
“Thus, the creation of an African Cocoa exchange fits into our collective aspiration of modernized and cocoa productive value chain that is delivering prosperity to producers, communities, aggregators, processors and all other value chain actors”.
“We are therefore confident that, given the experience and competence, Ghana can make meaningful contribution to the design and operationalization of an African Cocoa Exchange. The platform will give us the confidence that Africans have lacked over the years in dictating prices, warehousing, raise a lot of funds into the host country for trade to continue while creating a lot of businesses and jobs, boost local economy among others,” he added
The Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo for his part said the workshop served as a defining moment in the search for an appropriate market regime that delivers fair value to all stakeholders particularly cocoa producers in Ghana.
He said the workshop also aimed to address key issues such as prices, fair trade, quality control, access to finance for the cocoa sector among others while touching on the numerous investments COCOBOD has made in the pre-harvested sector of the domestic supply chain which include support for small holder farmers, improving soil fertility, controlling pests.
Executive Director, ICCO, Michel Arrion, commended Ghana especially COCOBOD for their role in the cocoa value chain and sustainability and hopes subsequent deliberations would help them to find a suitable country where the commodity Exchange will be established.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah