Chief Executive Officer of GEPA, Ms Asabea Asare, at one of the chocolate exhibition stands
GHANA REALISED approximately
$785 million from products manufactured from cocoa including cocoa cake, cocoa
butter and cocoa powder.
The figure
represents over 27 per cent in terms of the top 10 performing non-traditional
exports in 2018.
This came to
light on Friday at the maiden edition of the African Cocoa and Chocolate Expo
2019 organized by the Ghana Expert Promotion Authority (GEPA) in Accra, with
support from Know Your Cocoa Foundation.
The three-day
event brought together industry leaders, emerging businesses and chocolate
lovers for knowledge sharing, networking and sampling. It was aimed at
showcasing and celebrating the achievements of businesses in the cocoa value
chain under the theme: “Celebrating innovation, motivation, consumption.”
The Director of Domestic
Trade at the Trade Ministry, Ntim Donkor, who spoke on behalf of the Deputy Minister,
Carlos Ahenkorah, said the cocoa industry had the potential to rake in billions
of dollars annually if the right attention was given to the sector.
He said an estimated
800,000 farm households, particularly small holder farmers, derived at least 60
per cent of their annual income from cocoa alone, adding that the vision of the
expo was aligned to the ministry’s policy and activities which promoted
industrialization and job creation.
The Chief
Executive Officer of Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Asabea Asare, expressed
the hope that the expo would grow to become a truly African premier…
“The aim is to
deepen inter-African trade cooperation and synergies, particularly within the
context of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area
Agreement (AfCFTA). A series of fora has been planned to be held on the
sidelines of the exhibition aimed at exposing participants to the opportunities
available in the cocoa value change and how to take advantage of them,” she
added.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri
