info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
Photo from Internet
In spite of being the second largest grower of cocoa in the world, Ghana spends an average of US$45 million every year to import chocolate and other cocoa derivatives for special occasions such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day.
The imports are mostly done in the last quarter of the year, strategically to meet increased demand during the Christmas and New Year celebrations in December and January respectively, with some reserved for hampers to mark Valentine’s Day celebrations on February 14, the Managing Director of Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) Limited, Nana Agyenim Boateng I, said in an interview.
Nana Boateng I told the GRAPHIC BUSINESS on February 8 that the imports were mostly to meet the country’s strong appetite for foreign chocolates, which was fuelled, largely, by a seeming lack of local substitutes.
He said CPC, which had been in operation since 1965, stumbled upon the data on the strong appetite for imported chocolate during a market survey that preceded the introduction of its latest range of artisanal chocolates in December last year.
Although Africa produces almost 75 per cent of global cocoa output, it enjoys only five per cent of the US$100 billion chocolate industry, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB).
