The country can become a bigger force in the global cocoa industry by prioritising value addition.
This is because around 80 percent of the global cocoa industry's annual wealth of between US$130billion and US$150billion is generated during secondary processing (cocoa paste manufacturing), which continues to be non-existent in the country.
Intrinsically,...
…An in-depth look at Fairtrade's minimum price policy
Fairtrade, an organisation that advocates for fair and equitable access to international markets, has been a longstanding player in the cocoa-chocolate industry. However, questions have been raised about the effectiveness of Fairtrade's policies, particularly its minimum price policy, for smallholder cocoa farmers...
Government, through Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), has rolled out the Cocoa Farmers Pension Scheme (CFPS) to ensure a decent pension for cocoa farmers, improve their welfare, and also make farming attractive to the youth.
This comes after the Cocoa Management Systems (CMS) recorded some momentous strides after piloting the scheme...
Chief Executive of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahen-Aidoo has reiterated his call on the European Union (EU) to reconsider the element of cocoa pricing in its legislation. According to him, the legislation in its current form cannot sustain the industry and improve incomes of cocoa farmers.
Mr Aidoo made...
Ghana’s Cocoa sector is estimated to contribute about 3.5 percent to GDP and makes up about 25 percent of total export receipts. It is one of the most beneficial traditional commodities that have been the bedrock for the country. Despite its enormous potential, the sector has been at risk...
Continued from Part 2
Why is it problematic for Koa to pay cocoa farmers through mobile money?
Mobile money as a financial system was introduced to support the non-banked population, mostly in rural African agrarian communities, to perform financial transactions efficiently. The basis was that the financial institutions found it...
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has called for scrapping the 35 percent tax on small and medium-scale cocoa processing companies.
The cocoa sector regulator maintained that the tax, known as import duty, is a disincentive to cocoa processing startups and small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs); and as such, could erode gains in...
Regulator surprised by retail investor participation
recent auction undersubscribed by 90%
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has directed that retail investors who do not want to participate in the rollover of 182-day cocoa bills be paid their maturities which were due on Thursday, January 19, 2023.
This decision, which will...
unilaterally rolls over GH¢940m worth of bills
Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has defaulted on payments of its matured 182-day bill for the first time, rolling over outstanding securities of GH¢940.4million, albeit without investors consent.
The development led to confusion and concern for investors expecting payments to be made on these...