Ghana’s Vice President, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has called for a shift from commodity-based trade towards value addition, sustainability, and fairness in global cocoa partnerships.
Speaking at EU Sustainable Cocoa Initiatives in Brussels today, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said Ghana’s goal is to process more of its cocoa beans locally, describing it as both a legitimate aspiration and a strategic imperative. She stressed that true economic strength lies higher up the value chain, noting that local processing creates jobs, strengthens industrial capacity, enhances negotiating power, and protects national sovereignty.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said Ghana has already laid the groundwork for this transition through incentives under the Free Zones and Investment Promotion frameworks, which have expanded cocoa processing capacity to about half a million tonnes. She added that government plans to increase volumes further with support from improved logistics, reliable energy, and an enabling business environment. The Vice President emphasized that the greatest returns—in finance, employment, and skills—will come when Ghana and other producing countries move into manufacturing finished products such as chocolate. She said the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) offers an important platform to build regional value chains that retain more wealth within the continent.
However, she pointed out that financing remains a major bottleneck, as local private processors face high capital costs while commercial banks remain cautious due to heavy exposure to the cocoa sector. She called for structured, blended financing models that combine investment capital with affordable working capital, risk-sharing mechanisms, and technical support—particularly for small rural processors.
On sustainability, the Vice President noted that digital traceability systems are being introduced to ensure transparency, combat child labour, and build consumer confidence. She said allocation mechanisms at COCOBOD continue to guarantee fair access to beans for local processors and exporters.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang also urged global partners to address tariff escalations that disadvantage processed cocoa exports. While raw beans attract zero tariffs, duties on cocoa powder and chocolate remain high—an imbalance she said undermines fair trade.
She reaffirmed that Ghana’s broader transformation agenda, including the Big Push initiative and the connect 24 pillar of the 24-hour economy, is creating the infrastructure needed for agro-industrialization and continuous energy and data flow. Highlighting Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire’s Living Income Differential (LID), she said the policy underscores the countries’ joint commitment to ensuring farmers receive fair compensation for their labour.
The Vice President reaffirmed Ghana’s resolve to build a resilient cocoa economy that empowers farmers, creates jobs, promotes industrialization, and ensures sustainability. She urged the EU Sustainable Cocoa Initiative and the Global Gateway Framework to partner with Ghana in driving investment in processing, unlocking financing for cooperatives and SMEs, and ensuring that sustainability standards remain inclusive and non-punitive. “Let us work together to create a cocoa sector that is fair, sustainable, and beneficial to all,” she concluded.
