Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire commenced a two-day meeting here on Thursday to devise strategies that will enable them to influence world market prices and other conditions for cocoa positively.
Opening the meeting, Ghana’s Minister for Food and Agriculture Owusu Afriyie Akoto decried the unfair conditions on the world market for cocoa.
“Recent developments on the global cocoa market have raised concerns about sustainability of cocoa production,” Afriyie Akoto observed, adding: “On the production front, global output has been driven by increasing output in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire; global demand has also been increasing although at a slower pace.”
He noted: “The total output and value of sales for the top chocolate manufacturers continue to increase while real income for producers is falling.”
Even with the growth in the Asian market for cocoa consistently on the rise, the minister grieved that these positive developments in demand had not been matched by impressive prices.
“There is growing apprehension among producers of the dynamics of international cocoa market. Therefore, there is the need for urgent and sustainable measures to first protect our farmers and economies from the harsh effects of this price drops, thus the need for Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire Technical Cooperation for cocoa sustainability,” the minister explained.
Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire produce 2.35 million Metric tons of cocoa annually, representing 60 percent of the global annual output. Enditem
Source: Xinhua/NewsGhana.com.gh
