The Ghana Cocoa Board has approved the request of Afrotropic Cocoa Processing Limited to import 2,500 and 1,000 tons of cocoa from Cote D’Ivoire and Nigeria, respectively.
In a letter signed by the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, Hon. Joseph Boahen Aidoo, dated January 25, 2024, regarding the importation of cocoa beans from Cote D’Ivoire and Nigeria, he indicated that the importation must be done through the sea and must pass through the Tema port.
The CEO highlighted that Afrotropic Cocoa Processing Limited, upon receiving approval, must also go through the required process to obtain authorizations from state institutions like the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority before commencing the importation. Ghana Cocoa Board, therefore, requested Afrotropic to provide detailed information on the name of the vessel, shipment schedule, quantity of beans to be imported, and the expected date and time of arrival.
The Ghana Cocoa Board has noticed that there has been widespread circulation of this official letter to Afrotropic Cocoa Processing Company Limited, and it has been a subject of misinterpretation on social media, leading to misinformation.
The Ghana Cocoa Board, through their Public Affairs Department, has clarified the letter Cocobod wrote to Afrotropic Cocoa Processing Limited in a press release dated February 4, 2024, to address the misinterpretation of the letter.
The Board highlighted four clarifications to the letter:
- All processing companies in Ghana established post-November 2001 are permitted by law to import cocoa beans for processing in Ghana.
- The practice is to help the companies meet their desired recipes for chocolate production and other uses.
- Ghana’s cocoa is premium cocoa, and as part of cost management and operational strategy, companies often blend premium Ghana cocoa with less premium cocoa beans from other producing countries.
- It is an industry practice that has existed for over 20 years to allow factories to import from other countries, including Cote D’Ivoire, Togo, Nigeria, and Ecuador.
The Ghana Cocoa Board, therefore, urges the public to disregard the misinterpretation of the letter leading to misinformation.
