PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Cocoa plays an important role in the economy of Ghana. Cocoa employs approximately 800,000 farm families spread over six of the ten regions of Ghana. The crop generates about $2 billion in foreign exchange annually and is a major contributor to Government revenue and GDP.

Cocoa can be produced in all the forest areas of the country, particularly Eastern, Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Volta, Central and Western Regions. Cocoa pods mature and ripe throughout the year. Cocoa is harvested by cutting the ripe pods from the trees, breaking them open, and extracting the beans. The beans are fermented for 6 days with three turnings before drying for another 7 days in the sun. The beans are then bagged, graded, and sealed for local processors and export.

PROJECT SCOPE

Investment opportunities exist in the production and processing of products like chocolate, pebbles, and cocoa powder. The Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) has also come out with other products that can be produced from cocoa beans and cocoa pods. These products include cocoa brandy, cocoa wine, cocoa jam, cocoa gin, cocoa butter soap, cocoa butter moisturizing soap, vinegar, and cocoa biscuits. Ghana exports about 800,000 tonnes of cocoa annually.

The major national goal is to achieve 50% processed cocoa as a proportion of the exported.

INITIAL CAPITAL OUTLAY

Estimated capital outlay for the establishment of modern cocoa farms and processing plants ranges from US$ 0.5 -3 million depending on the choice of the scale of investment of the investor.