Joseph Boahen Aidoo
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has dismissed some misinformation on social media following the circulation of an official letter to Afrotropic Cocoa Processing Company to import cocoa beans for processing in the country.
The statement, issued on Sunday February 4, 2024, by the Public Affairs Department of COCOBOD, said all cocoa processing companies in Ghana established post November 2001 are permitted by law to import cocoa beans for processing in the country.
It said the practice of importing cocoa beans for processing in the country is to help the companies meet their desired recipes for chocolate production and other uses.
“This letter, in response to the company’s request to import cocoa beans to process in Ghana has been a subject of misinterpretation on social media leading to misinformation. All processing companies in Ghana established post-November 2001 are permitted by law to import cocoa beans for processing in the country,” it said.
“Ghana’s cocoa is a premium cocoa and as part of cost management and operational safety, companies often blend premium Ghana cocoa with less premium cocoa beans from other producing countries,” it added.
It said it is an industry practice that exists for over 20 years to allow factories to import from other countries including, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Nigeria and Ecuador and therefore urged the public to disregard the false claim of the leaked letter.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah