Ghana and Thailand have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to share knowledge and experience in coconut production, value addition and market development. The demand for coconut products continues to grow worldwide but the top producers of the fruit are struggling to keep up.
The potential has convinced the government to seek partnership that will translate into increased production of the fruit to help improve revenue generation.
The MoU between Ghana Exim Bank and the Exim Bank of Thailand was signed on the sidelines of the Global Network of Export-import Banks and Development Finance Institutions in Geneva.
The Chief Executive officer of Ghana Exim Bank, Mr. Lawrence Agyinsam initialed for Ghana and his counterpart from Thailand, Mr. Pisit Serewiwattana signed for his country.
Under the agreement Thailand, which is ranked 9th on the table of the world’s largest coconut producers will support Ghana with both financial and technical services to boost Ghana’s coconut industry.
Thailand produces one million and ten thousand tonnes of coconut annually as against Ghana with 366 tonnes annually as at 2018. Ghana is ranked 15th on the world’s largest coconut producers chart and it comes second in Africa after Tanzania, which produces 530,000 tonnes of coconut per year.
However in West Africa Ghana is the largest producer of coconut and according to the Ghana Exim Bank, from 2017 about 26 trucks full of coconut leave the shores of Ghana to Nigeria on daily basis.
Coconut, which is referred to as the ” tree of life” has been selected by the government of Ghana as one of the six tree crops to be used as a vehicle to diversify, improve income levels of farmers, create jobs and rake in foreign exchange under the Planting for Export and Rural Development, PERD, programme.
PERD was launched by President Akufo Addo in May, 2019 at the capital of newly created Western North region, Sefwi Wiaso.
