Dr John Apontuah Kumah
DEPUTY MINISTER for Finance, Dr John Apontuah Kumah, says Government is putting in place measures to augment the country’s cocoa processing capacity.
Dr Apontuah, who was speaking at the Chocolatarium Business Summit organised recently by the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) as part of the Second Edition of the National Chocolate Week in Accra, expressed worry at Ghana’s $2 billion earning on cocoa currently saying it was not enough.
He said even though the current national installed cocoa processing capacity was around 544,000 tonnes, some of the cocoa processing factories were operating below capacity.
He said Ghana has to fully benefit from the $130 billion global market.
The Deputy Minister, who is also Member of Parliament for Ejisu, noted that “If you add what our artisanal producers are also doing, then the need for a strategic focus becomes clearer”.
“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 recognise the importance of leveraging cocoa to improve our fortunes as a nation” Dr Kumah underscored.
Yofi Grant, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), indicated that despite being one of the world’s largest cocoa producers in the world, Ghana does 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 good 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.
Akwasi Agyemang, CEO of GTA, said the objective of GTA was to highlight the health benefits of cocoa to boost the consumption of the product.
The event was organised under the Ghana CARES Obaatan Pa Programme.
BY Daniel Bampoe