Accra, Mar. 01, GNA- The Cocoa Value Addition Artisans Association of Ghana (COVAAGH) says the readiness of local industry to boost cocoa consumption and the huge potential the sector has for Small Medium Enterprises (SME) requires the setting up of a fund.
“We, therefore, pray to government to create a special purpose vehicle through COCOBOD and the Banks to provide financial support and equipment to boost local cocoa value chain in Ghana” said Mr. George Adjei-Bekoe, Vice President of COVAAGH.
He made the appeal at the maiden edition of the recently held Chocolatarium-The Business of Chocolate summit.
He observed that meeting stringent regulatory requirements to enter the cocoa value addition sector coupled with the capital-intensive nature of the enterprise posed a challenge to local investors, especially SMEs thus the need for support.
“It used to be $1 million for a line of machine to get into processing but now things are changing bit by bit and the price is coming down because technology is reducing the size of equipment. With a little capital between $200,000 and $500,000 could be put in place,” he noted, stressing some little assistance could help promote local consumption of cocoa products to grow the local economy.
Local banks, he said, did not package for cocoa investors, adding, “you cannot go in and borrow on a commercial scale for this kind of production.”
He said the sector was faced with challenge of acquiring input mostly sourced from the Free Zones enclave, which he described as, “like you are importing your raw material. You must buy semi-finished product there at a dollar rate, you must pay duty, the tax and all that.”
Dr. Edward Ackah-Nyamikeh, the President of the Ghana Hotels Association, called on government to be deliberate in sustaining cocoa consumption all year round.
That, he said would include the provision of incentives to the hotel industry as providers of large platform for cocoa consumption to make cocoa products easily accessible to clients with the hope of cultivating a daily habit of cocoa consumption among Ghanaians.
“If we put in perspective cocoa itself is a non- essential commodity with regards to consumption. It is something you must promote the demand for, and it must be a deliberate effort,” he said.
Mr. Emmanuel Frimpong, the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Tourism Federation, said the country was missing out on raking revenue from the demand from chocolate within the tourism sector.
He, therefore, called for a partnership between tourism players and local chocolate makers to grow the cocoa value chain.
GNA