MILAN — In an attempt to bolster value addition alongside the cocoa supply chain, the government of Ghana has announces plans to plans to start locally processing 50 per cent of all the cocoa it produces.
The country is the world’s second largest producer of cocoa after Côte d’Ivoire, with an average output of 900,000 metric tonnes, but an estimated 80% of this production is exported raw, according to data from Ghana Cocoa Board, COCOBOD, the institution that fixes the buying price for cocoa.
There are currently some seven major processing companies in the country with an estimated processing capacity of about 500,000 tonnes.
However, only a paltry 200,000 tonnes of these firms’ capacity is currently being utilized which represents 40 per cent of total crop production.
Ghana has partnered with China to establish a $60 million factory with a capacity to process 450,000 tonnes every year. Upon completion, the factory will boost the country’s exports, improve value addition and cocoa consumption locally.
