Dr. Akoto Owusu Afriyie
Ghana is expected to participate in this year’s China International Tea Expo.
The 3rd China International Tea Expo is one of the biggest Agricultural Expo organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People’s Republic of China to showcase agricultural products to the global community.
The theme for this year’s expo is ‘Promoting Shared Growth through the Development of the Tea Industry’.
Focusing on tea and coffee industries, the Expo would provide platform to strengthen information and technology exchanges through exhibitions, seminars, dialogues and field visits.
A news release issued by Ghana’s Food and Agriculture Ministry, says “it (Expo) also seeks to share successful experiences of promoting rural development, environmental protection and income growth of farmers through developing tea coffee industries and exploring effective pathways of industrial development.”
The event which starts from 12th – 18th May, 2019 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China, is expected to bring together over 2000 exhibitors from different countries in the production of tea coffee.
It says “Ghana has been invited as the Guest Country of Honour for this year’s Expo, and is the first and the only African country to be given such status since its inception.”
The invitation provides Ghana, a unique opportunity to showcase and market its local products such as chocolate and other cocoa beverages in a vast domestic market of China.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie-Akoto, would be leading Ghana’s official delegation which comprises entrepreneurs, businessmen together with varied key industrial players.
Expressing his gratitude to the Government of the People’s Republic of China, particularly his Chinese counterpart, Han Changfu for the gesture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie-Akoto said Ghana’s offer comes as a golden opportunity to gauge the appetite of Chinese market of about 1.3 billion population with its cocoa products.