China to Support Ghana in Constructing $100 Million Chocolate Factory

Government has announced a joint partnership deal with the Chinese Government to construct a 100 million dollar chocolate factory at Sefwi-Wiaso.According to the sector minister, Dr. Akoto the Chinese will provide 60 million dollars for the project a...

Government has announced a joint partnership deal with the Chinese Government to construct a 100 million dollar chocolate factory at Sefwi-Wiaso.

According to the sector minister, Dr. Akoto the Chinese will provide 60 million dollars for the project and Ghana Government will bring the remaining 40 million dollars.

The factory if completed is expected to add value to the country's cocoa beans and provide jobs for the youth .The Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, has revealed that Government of Ghana and its Chinese counterpart are on the verge of signing a 100 million dollar deal to construct a chocolate factory at Sefwi-Wiaso in the Western North Region. Speaking at a coach supply chain program organized by Ecobank Ghana, the sector minister noted that the joint partnership deal will soon be signed in Ghana.“We have agreed with the Chinese who are ready to bring 60 million dollars while Ghana looks for some Ghanaian investors who will be ready to bring 40 million dollars,” he said.

He also opined that the facility is expected to process about 50,000 tonnes of cocoa beans into chocolate in a year. The factory if constructed will add value to Ghana’s cocoa Beas before export. Dr. Akoto also noted that the location of the factory was settled upon because the Western North area is known to be a major cocoa growing area, contributing to the export earnings of the country over the years. The minister further stated that the factory will also provide jobs to the youth in the country. Ghana is one of the leading producers of cocoa in the world, but less than 15% of the beans produced there is processed in the country for cocoa products such as chocolate. The global chocolate market is worth some 103.28 billion dollars and has been estimated to reach approximately 161.56 billion dollars by 2024. Ghana’s major producer of chocolate, the Cocoa Processing Company produces 2000 metric tons of chocolate annually. 


[Author:vinita]