Ghana says it will not sell cocoa to Switzerland any much longer after the West Africans decided to process their own cocoa beans
Akufo-Addo tied in the movement towards value addition to Ghana’s national pride as well as poverty alleviation. Even though it can be read as an approach antithetical to what free-marketeers like Switzerland have advocated over the last few decades, protecting Ghana’s interest in short ot long term would be difficult to argue against.
Last year, both Ghana and Ivory Coast halted the sale of cocoa to United States manufacturers accusing the U.S. confectionary giants Hershey’s and Mars of avoiding paying a bonus that will help improve the economic fortunes of poor farmers.
The Coffee Cocoa Council (CCC) and the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) in a statement said the two of the world’s top chocolate sellers were not paying the living income differential (LID).
The LID gives cocoa farmers a bonus of $400 per tonne in addition to the market price and envisioned to cushion many farmers who live in poverty. The $400 a tonne LID on cocoa sales for the 2020/2021 season was introduced by the West African nations last year.
That trade war did not last long as Ghana and the Ivory Coast won their way. It was the second time in two years that the two countries had manufacturers to concede on deals. [...] Ghana is responsible for about 45% of the world’s cocoa.