Vice President, Jane Opoku-Agyemang, is calling for a new era of fairness in global cocoa trade, one that eliminates tariff barriers and allows African nations to fully benefit from their labour.
Speaking on the second day of the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels, she spotlighted how “tariff escalation”, where processed cocoa products face higher import duties than raw beans, continues to rob producing countries like Ghana of full value.
“This hinders our ability to trade fairly,” she emphasized, urging the international community to reform outdated trade structures.
The Vice President’s message went beyond tariffs.
She framed cocoa as a central pillar of Ghana’s economic transformation, deeply connected to the Big Push Initiative for agro-industrialization and the Connect24 pillar of the 24-Hour Economy, a model aimed at improving the flow of goods, energy, and data.
She reminded the global audience that Ghana’s Living Income Differential (LID), introduced with Côte d’Ivoire, is not just a policy tool but a moral commitment to ensuring farmers earn a dignified income.
“Our path forward is clear,” she declared.
“We must move beyond exporting raw cocoa beans to building an economy that empowers farmers and promotes sustainability.”
Opoku-Agyemang also addressed the problem of underinvestment in local processing, warning that the real threat to Africa’s cocoa future lies in the continent’s failure to capture market value.
“Global demand for cocoa remains strong, and African consumption is on the rise.
The greater risk lies not in overcapacity but in underinvestment,” she said.
