Ghana yet to attain 1kg per capita consumption of cocoa – Minister
Ghana is yet to attain one kilogramme (kg) per capital consumption of cocoa, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister of Information, has observed.
He said though Ghana had made significant strides in local consumption of cocoa over the years, the country had just moved a bit above 0.55kg per capita consumption for the medium term.
“…We are on our journey to move towards the target of 1kg per capita consumption of cocoa for the medium term here in Ghana. Despite the relative improvement in local cocoa consumption, we just moved up a little beyond our 0.55kg per capita cocoa consumption…”
Germany is said to be the biggest chocolate producer in the European Union with per capita consumption of cocoa around 2.9 kilogrammes in 2018/19.
Speaking at the launch of the 2022 National Chocolate Week celebration under the theme: “Eat Chocolate, Stay Healthy, Grow Ghana,” at the Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Farm, the Minister said the weeklong celebration would promote local consumption of “chocolate and other cocoa products.”
Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the Government deemed it necessary to sustain the national cocoa products consumption campaign, saying they provided health benefits for the people and created economic values.
Last year, 2021, Ghana produced about a million metric tons of cocoa, however, there were reports of intermittent shortages of chocolate products on the local market, that, he said was an opportunity for the local business community to explore.
The Minister called on the Traditional Authority of Akuapem Mampong and stakeholders in the cocoa industry to commence deliberations on a yearly “Tetteh Quarshie National Cocoa Festival” to promote local consumption of cocoa products.
The Festival would be in honour of Tetteh Quarshie and celebrated at Akuapem Mampong, as Ghana’s cocoa history.
Osabarima Kwame Otu Dartey III, Chief of Akuapem Mampong, appealed to chocolate producers to make the products affordable to boost consumption.
He urged the Government to establish Cocoa Museum to house the first trees brought by Tetteh Quarshie.
The National Cocoa Week celebration, schedule for 12 to 22, February 2022, is under the auspices of the Ghana Tourism Authority with support from COCOBOD.
Some activities planned to mark the celebration are health walks, floats, and donations.
Source: GNA