Cocoa
Sir Sam E. Jonah has described the recent news of China producing their own cocoa as a piece of disturbing information.
Speaking to Rotarians in Accra under the theme; ‘Down the Up Escalator: Reflections on Ghana’s Future by a Senior Citizen on April 22, 2021, the business mogul said:
“Chinese having helped pollute our rivers through illegal mining activities and having, in connivance with some Ghanaians, acquired large tracts of farmlands in the cocoa-growing areas have started producing their own cocoa.
“Their illicit mining activities release mercury into the soil. Mercury is indestructible and traces have been found in some of our cocoa beans.”
Sam Jonah explained that what this means is that even Ghana’s traditional source of revenue from which thousands of farmers obtain their livelihoods is no longer secure, “as we risk losing the premium quality of our cocoa. This is a terrible prospect and it is one that must be tackled with a renewed sense of urgency.”
He observed that the inevitable conclusion from all of this is that the sustainability of our current sources of revenue is under threat.
The Asian country is reported to have exported to Belgium its first batch of cocoa beans weighing 500kg worth about $3,600.
But Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, is reported to have mentioned that China growing cocoa can only help to achieve what isn’t there today.
Gabby Asare Otchere Darko, who made the Minister’s position known through a post on his Facebook timeline described Ofori-Atta’s position as a refreshing and capitalist mindset to the Chinese move.
“Chinese taste for cocoa products. If it will significantly cultivate Chinese taste for cocoa then Ghana is bound to be a very big winner, he reckons.
China’s population is estimated at 1.4 billion people, equivalent to 18.5% of the total world population. That’s what he is focusing on,” Gabby stated.
Gabby quotes the Minister as saying: “My sense is that they can never produce enough cocoa to meet domestic demand in China let alone export.
“China is a tea-drinking society. Yet, Starbucks is benefiting hugely today from a recent taste for coffee in China that was deliberately cultivated. I think we should welcome China’s new interest in cocoa. It can only mean a new and exciting market for us.”
Ghana and Ivory Coast according to records produce over 60 per cent of the world’s cocoa beans.
