Friday 30 June 2017

How To Build A Continent-Wide Market For Ghana's Cocoa Products - And Insulate The Cocoa industry From Volatile Global Commodity Markets

It is instructive that Ghanaian leaders always receive a warm welcome everywhere they pay official  visits to  in Africa.

The warmness of President Akufo-Addo's receptions by his fellow leaders during visits to sister African nations, is the latest manifestation of that high regard Ghanaian leaders are held in, throughout Africa.

That great love fellow Africans have for Mother Ghana, and their respect for the welcoming  people of this great nation of ours, results directly  from the goodwill President Nkrumah built  for our nation throughout the continent during his tenure.

The uniqueness of the special relationship that exists between Nkrumah's Ghana and all the nations on the continent, is a lasting legacy of President Nkrumah's  pioneering role as an advocate for the  unification of Africa.

Our current leaders ought to capitalise on that tremendous goodwill for our homeland Ghana across Africa - by tapping export markets in nations all over Africa for the manufactured products of Ghanaian industry.

The head of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), and the managing director of the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC), for example, ought to be included in the entourages of the president and vice-president, whenever they pay official visits to sister nations on the continent.

Their job must always be to present the CPC's products to the First Ladies of the host nations - for them to enjoy with their families at home: and develop a taste for chocolate products from Ghana: and therby set a fashionable trend in those sister nations of ours for Ghanaian  confectionary products.

They must also request  meetings with the  owners and CEOs of the biggest supermarket chains in each host nation during such official visits - and offer to make own-brand confectionary products for them.

It wouldn't harm them to do some research - with the help of the commercial attaches of all Ghana's embassies in the continent -  on each potential African export market and make branded samples with which to pleasantly surprise the owners and CEOs of the largest supermarket chains in such countries, with, prior to such official visits to their nations, by Ghanaian leaders.

That way, we can slowly build a continent-wide  market for the CPC's marvellous dark chocolates - which are amongst the finest in the world - and the company's other  product lines.

Incidentally, they could make a start targeting the continent's wealthiest middle-classes in nations such as: Angola; Nigeria; South Africa; Senegal; Morroco; Algeria; Gabon; Botswana; Namibia; Equatorial Guinea; Kenya; The Seychelles; Mauritius; Uganda; Tanzania; DR Congo;  Congo Brazzaville; and Rwanda.

Would we not  insulate ourselves from the volatility of the global commodity markets  (that are so notoriously fickle) and protect hardworking cocoa farmers in Ghana, that way, I ask?


No comments: