Ghana Cocoa Board addresses misinterpretation of official letter to Afrotropic Cocoa Processing Company Limited

Management of Ghana Cocoa Board has noted the widespread circulation of an official letter from the regulator to Afrotropic Cocoa Processing Company Limited.

This letter, in response to the company’s request to import cocoa beans to process in Ghana has been a subject of misinterpretation on social media leading to misinformation.

We would like to clarify as follows;

1) All processing companies in Ghana established post November 2001 are permitted by law to import cocoa beans for processing in Ghana.

2) The practice is to help the companies meet their desired recipes for chocolate production and other uses.

3) Ghana’s cocoa is a 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.

4) 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 public is therefore urged to disregard the false claim deduced from the leaked letter.

ISSUED BY:

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT