Addressing Cocoa Processing Companies' U.S.$250 Million Indebtedness To COCOBOD

To ensure the  repayment of the U.S.$250 millions owed the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD),  by a number of cocoa processing companies in Ghana,  the COCOBOD needs to be proactive - and take active steps to help those cocoa processing companies find new markets for their products.

In a conversation with H.E. Victor Smith, before he left Ghana to take up his new appointment as Ghana's high commissioner to the United Kingdom, I recall him  promising to contact the leading supermarkets in the UK, with a view to encouraging them source their own-brand cocoa products from Ghana, when I mooted the idea to him.

Perhaps the COCOBOD's head of marketing, Mr. Edem Amegashie, could work with H.E. Victor Smith, to  organise a trip to Ghana, for the leading UK  supermarkets' buyers of cocoa products  - to enable them  inspect the modern and hygenic factories of the processing companies that are said to be indebted to the COCOBOD: to the tune of some U.S.$250 millions.

The COCOBOD's senior management should also work with the ministry of foreign affairs and regional integration,  to get the heads of Ghana's diplomatic missions, to talk to the CEO's of leading supermarkets  in other wealthy nations, in which cocoa products are popular - and encourage them to source their own-brand cocoa products from the cocoa processing companies indebted to it.

Nations like the U.S., the UK, Holland, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Italy, Japan, China, India and Iran readily come to mind.

 The production in Ghana of own-brand cocoa products for leading supermarkets in those nations, will save the over 6,000 jobs that are threatened,  if those cocoa processing companies indebted to the COCOBOD,   are forced to close down - meaning that they can be sold to consumers there  as fairtrade cocoa products: the production of which saves existing jobs, creates new jobs, and thus  alleviates poverty  in Ghana.

That will be a win-win outcome for the COCOBOD and the  processing companies indebted to it - all of which which will finally be in a position to resume earning the needed revenues to start paying  back what they owe the COCOBOD.

Hopefully, COCOBOD will take this up, and by so doing, prevent  the processing companies from folding up. Amongst the local processors said to be indebted to COCOBOD are: Plot Enterprises Limited; Afro Tropical Limited; Real Commodities Limited; West African Mills Limited; and Cocoa Processing Company Limited.

Doubtless the rest of society will also take note of the fact that  in seeking to address the thorny issue of the processing companies indebtedness to it, rather than acting in peremptory fashion,  COCOBOD chose instead to be bold and creative  - in bringing closure to a difficult situation that threatened its finances and put  the future of a number of  local  cocoa processors in doubt (ditto thousands of hard-to-find jobs). A word to the wise...