Vice President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang has urged the European Union to partner with Ghana in transforming raw cocoa production into value-added manufacturing that empowers farmers and creates jobs, speaking Friday at the EU Sustainable Cocoa Initiative session in Brussels.
Addressing stakeholders at the Sustainable Cocoa Initiative Scale-up session during the Global Gateway Forum, she emphasized that Ghana seeks to move beyond commodity-based trade toward building a cocoa economy centered on processing and value addition.
The Vice President’s message reflects a growing frustration among cocoa-producing nations that supply raw materials to global markets but capture minimal value from finished chocolate products. She traced Ghana’s cocoa heritage from Tetteh Quarshie’s introduction of the first cocoa beans to the country’s current network of over 800,000 farmers, arguing this legacy deserves better economic returns.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang urged the EU Sustainable Cocoa Initiative and the Global Gateway Framework to drive investment in processing facilities, unlock financing for cooperatives and small and medium enterprises, and ensure that sustainability standards remain inclusive rather than punitive. Her emphasis on non-punitive standards addresses concerns that strict environmental regulations could disadvantage African producers.
The Vice President directly linked Ghana’s ambitious 24-hour economy initiative to cocoa value addition, contending that transforming raw beans into finished products requires the infrastructure, financing, and continuous operations her government envisions. This policy framework aims to create round-the-clock manufacturing operations that maximize productivity and employment.
Ghana’s push for cocoa industrialization comes as the country grapples with price volatility in global commodity markets. While Ghana remains one of the world’s top cocoa producers, most beans leave the country unprocessed, with European and American manufacturers capturing the bulk of profits through chocolate production and retail.
Speaking Thursday at the same forum, the Vice President challenged global cocoa stakeholders to eliminate tariff escalation practices that prevent African nations from capturing the full value of their cocoa production. Tariff escalation refers to higher import duties on processed goods compared to raw materials, effectively discouraging African countries from developing domestic manufacturing.
The Global Gateway Forum brought together heads of state, business leaders, civil society organizations, and financial institutions to explore strengthened global partnerships. Ghana’s participation reflects the country’s development goals extending beyond traditional infrastructure investments to include partnerships that build productive capacity.
The EU Sustainable Cocoa Initiative has allocated €25 million in budgetary support and technical assistance across Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Cameroon, targeting improved sustainability in cocoa production. However, Ghana now seeks expanded investment specifically directed toward processing and manufacturing rather than just farm-level improvements.
The Vice President’s appeal aligns with broader African Union initiatives promoting industrialization and value addition across the continent. Many African leaders argue that continuing to export raw materials perpetuates economic dependency and limits job creation, particularly for youth populations facing high unemployment.
Ghana’s cocoa sector faces additional challenges including aging farmer populations, climate change impacts, and competition from other producing countries. Building domestic processing capacity could provide more stable incomes for farmers while creating industrial jobs in rural areas where economic opportunities remain scarce.
The success of Ghana’s industrialization push will depend partly on whether European partners respond with concrete investments rather than just sustainability programs. Professor Opoku-Agyemang emphasized the need to empower small-scale processors and improve farmer livelihoods across the continent, signaling that Ghana views this as a regional development priority rather than a national concern alone.
European chocolate manufacturers have long sourced West African cocoa while maintaining manufacturing operations in their home countries. Whether they’ll embrace processing partnerships in Ghana remains uncertain, particularly given existing investments in European facilities and established supply chains.
The Vice President’s Brussels message represents Ghana’s clearest articulation yet of expectations for genuine partnership rather than traditional donor relationships in the cocoa sector. Whether the EU Sustainable Cocoa Initiative can evolve to meet these demands for industrialization support will test the framework’s adaptability and European commitment to African economic transformation.