{"id":340123,"date":"2017-07-28T10:41:17","date_gmt":"2017-07-28T10:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=340123"},"modified":"2017-07-28T10:41:17","modified_gmt":"2017-07-28T10:41:17","slug":"focus-on-processing-cocoa-to-transform-economy-lord-paul-boateng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/07\/focus-on-processing-cocoa-to-transform-economy-lord-paul-boateng\/","title":{"rendered":"Focus on processing cocoa to transform economy – Lord Paul Boateng"},"content":{"rendered":"
A member of the British House of Lords, Rt. Hon Lord Paul Boateng has challenged the government to focus on processing cocoa to transform the economy.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the 5th John Evans Atta Mills Commemorative lecture at GIMPA yesterday, Lord Boateng bemoaned the insignificant 2 percent gains Africa makes through exporting raw cocoa beans, while the value of the manufacture of same stands at $100 billion.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”eHjMB2gDEGzZK3TLZdAKj3t01i3zFPCT”]”Where is the justice in that?\u201d Lord Boateng asked.<\/p>\n
He said other countries had made the $100 billion “just as the price of Cocoa has fallen to an all-time low and profits of global manufacturers of chocolate have hit an all time high.<\/p>\n
Lord Boateng, therefore, urged the Akufo-Addo administration to prioritize the sector, adding that it will create more jobs for the youth.<\/p>\n
\u201cA change will not simply come about through Africans bringing more cocoa and more coffee\u2026 we have got to start processing that cocoa and roasting that coffee on the continent and we need to engage young people in that process of Agribusiness.\u201d<\/p>\n
The need for Ghana to add value to cocoa before exporting has been drummed home over the years, but\u00a0the country still exports about 80 percent of its raw cocoa beans, losing a lot of foreign earnings.<\/p>\n