Osafo Marfo advocates cocoa deregulation

Former Finance Minister under the Kufuor administration Yaw Osafo Marfo is advocating a total deregulation of the cocoa sector in Ghana.

According to Yaw Osafo Marfo, private licensed buying companies must be allowed to export their products without going through the Ghana Cocoa Board.

Mr Osafo Marfo says Ghana’s cocoa sector will see tremendous growth if the private sector is allowed to maximize the opportunities in the external marketing of cocoa as pertains in Cote d’Ivoire.

He was speaking at the 2015 Ayisi and Associates Corporate Leadership Program, Business Colloquium on raising capital and corporate finance, the former minister said,” the problem with the cocoa sector is that the deregulation of the Ghana cocoa sector is incomplete, I tried to complete it but i didnt succeed.

“When it comes to the external marketing of cocoa, Ghana has refused to deregulate it, La Cote d’Ivoire it is deregulated. It means that you can be a local buying company, you be up to the level of you exporting. So you take a risk to benefit when the world market prices fluctuate”, he stressed.