Dangote wants to process 500,000 tonnes of cocoa in Ghana
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on MyJoyOnline
Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote wants to establish a unit in Ghana capable of locally processing 500,000 tonnes of cocoa a year, Ghanaian Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson announced. The two sides are negotiating the terms of the operation, which would help Ghana achieve its goal of processing more than half of its production locally by 2028, according to the minister.
Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote proposes processing 500,000 tonnes of cocoa a year in Ghana, as part of a project aimed at using the country as a regional processing hub. Ghanaian Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson said on Thursday that Dangote had personally contacted him and President John Dramani Mahama about the proposal, during an appearance on Joy News.
According to Cassiel Ato Forson, Aliko Dangote believes his investment could help Ghana process locally more than half of its cocoa production by 2028. The Ghanaian government is targeting at least 50% local processing in 2028 and 100% in 2030, with the aim of subsequently banning raw cocoa exports, according to the 2027 budget presented to Parliament.
The project would envisage a chain ranging from bean grinding to mass production of cocoa, butter, cake, powder, chocolate and cosmetics. The government thus wants to increase the share of revenue from the sector retained in Ghana.
