The 2019 National Chocolate Day has been held in Accra with a call on the public to make the consumption of locally made cocoa products a daily exercise.
That would not only offer them an opportunity to make the most of the health benefits of cocoa, including improved blood circulation but also contribute to maximising the local processing of cocoa which is produced in the country.
This year’s celebration, on the theme: “My Chocolate Experience,” was held at the forecourt of the National Theatre yesterday.
The celebration, marked every February 14 to coincide with Valentine’s Day, is targeted at boosting the local consumption of cocoa-based products and to promote local tourism.
It was organised by the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) in collaboration with the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC).
The scores of participants included dignitaries from the GTA, COCOBOD, schoolchildren and stakeholders in the cocoa processing and marketing industry.
Speaking at the event, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in charge of Agronomy and Quality Control at COCOBOD, Dr Emmanuel Agyemang Dwomoh, stated that the government’s vision that 50 per cent of cocoa produced in the country should be processed locally could only be achieved if there was a significant increase in the local consumption of cocoa.
“Africa contributes about 70 percent of global cocoa production but can only account for three per cent of domestic consumption of cocoa products. This cannot be accepted considering the volumes of cocoa beans we produce as a continent,” he contended.
CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Mr Akwasi Agyemang, urged players in the hospitality industry to lead the campaign on the consumption of cocoa-based products in the country.
He appealed to them to include cocoa recipes on their menus to boost exposure to cocoa-based foods and encourage consumption on the part of their customers.
The Managing Director of the Cocoa Processing Company, Nana Agyenim Boateng, pledged the company’s resolve to continue to add value to the country’s cocoa in a bid to create wealth and employment opportunities for the citizenry.
He, therefore, appealed to the general public to patronise the company’s variety of products to enable it to garner enough revenue and expand its operations.
