Add Value To Cocoa
CADBURY, A cocoa processing company has been urged to consider setting up a facility for the processing of cocoa in Ghana.
This, President John Agyekum Kufuor said, would help the country add value to its raw cocoa beans which the company has over the past hundred years been purchasing to be processed outside the country.
Processing of cocoa beans in Ghana, President Kufuor observed, would also boost the income of farmers in the country and “by processing the beans and exporting outside, the benefits will not be limited to only farmers but to the whole nation.”
Ghana's cocoa beans have been rated as of high value for the production of quality cocoa products such as chocolate, cocoa powder, cocoa butter among others.
President Kufuor made the request when Matt Shattock, President of Cadbury in charge of Britain, Ireland, Middle East and West Africa called on him in his house on Monday to inform him about the Centenary anniversary of Cadbury in Ghana.
The Minister of Trade, Industry and Private Sector Development, Joe Badu Ansah, the Chief Executive of COCOBOD, Isaac Osei and other officials of Cadbury Ghana were with Mr. Shattock at the President's residence.
The President also appealed to Cadbury to consider floating its shares on the Ghana Stock Exchange, “so that Ghanaians can be part owners of your company”.
Mr Shattock told the President that Cadbury intends to partner the COCOBOD to secure the future of farmers in the cocoa industry.
Following this partnership, Cadbury had decided to set up a development fund which would help secure the company's business interests, sustain cocoa production and improve the lives of cocoa farmers in the country and three other nations.
The £600,000 fund would last for a 10-year period and 70 per cent of the money to be generated would go to Ghana whilst India, Indonesia and Gambia would share the remaining 30 per cent.
Mr Shattock explained that annually, an amount of £3 million would be added to the initial £600,000 capital.
He expressed the hope that the fund would support Ghana to achieve the targets under the Millennium Development Goals as well as help it achieve the projected middle income status by 2015.