CONAKRY, Guinea – Guinea President Alpha Conde has instructed ministers in charge of commerce, finance and agriculture to take appropriate measures to control the buying and selling of coffee and cocoa on the international market to enable the country to earn foreign currency, an official source said Thursday.
The orders were issued to the concerned ministers during Thursday’s ordinary cabinet meeting in Conakry.
Coffee and cocoa are export products whose revival will enable Guinea to acquire foreign currency to fill the shortage that has been witnessed in recent times.
Guinea’s Central Bank recently said the shortage of foreign currency had been caused by the Ebola crisis that was eliminated this year after having devastated the country’s economy for two years.
The ongoing rainy season that began in June, has also resulted in a slow down in production within the mining zones, especially in the gold mining zones in Haute Guinea region.
This is likely to have a negative impact on the mining sector which is a key source of foreign currency for the Guinean state.
It should also be noted that foreign exchange bureaus in Guinea have not had sufficient supply of foreign currency since November 2015.
By redirecting focus on export of agricultural products like coffee and cocoa, Guinea wants to generate some foreign currency resources
