Otumfuo Made Cocoa Ambassador

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has been made the official ‘Cocoa Consumption Ambassador’ in the country.

The decision, which was taken with the aim of boosting cocoa consumption in Africa and beyond, was reached based on the Otumfuo’s respectable position and fame across the globe.

In his acceptance speech, Otumfuo expressed worry about the poor patronage of cocoa products by Ghanaians and called for a change.

He said a high patronage of cocoa products would lead to a great boost in the industry and further help develop the economy.

According to him, the country loses huge amounts of money when Cocoa is exported in its raw state and therefore charged the authorities to make sure that value is added to the beans before they are exported.

Weeps Over Gold

The Asantehene further expressed sadness about how the country loses colossal sums of money from gold because it is also exported in its raw state.

He noted that the country could have made huge benefits from its rich gold deposits if she adds value to the mineral and cautioned that the country should not extend the mistakes it made with gold to the cocoa sector.

For his part, President Akufo-Addo said his government is committed to implementing new policies and giving the needed help to revive the sector so that Ghana takes its rightful place on the continent in Cocoa production.

Regarding cocoa pricing, the President assured that his government would work closely with Cote D’Ivoire, which is currently the world’s leading producer of the crop, noting that collaboration between the two countries would help secure better pricing for cocoa on the international market.

The programme, which was a grand durbar to mark the national Cocoa Day, was themed: ‘70 Years on: Mobilizing for a Sustainable Cocoa Economy’.

Source: Kwadwo Essel/ The Publisher