Ghana's Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson said Dangote had contacted him and President John Dramani Mahama to express interest in using the country as a cocoa-processing hub. The proposed arrangement would involve processing 500,000 metric tons of cocoa locally, although the timeframe for handling that volume has not been specified.
The two sides are reviewing the terms of the proposed contract, and no agreement has been signed, MyJoyOnline reported on November 13. Forson discussed the proposal in an interview with Joy News on November 12, following the presentation of Ghana's 2027 Budget to Parliament.
The proposal comes as the government seeks to process at least 50% of the country's cocoa locally by 2028 and 100% by 2030, according to the 2027 Budget Statement. The strategy envisages expanding production beyond basic bean grinding to include cocoa liquor, butter, cake, powder, chocolate, cosmetics and other finished products.
The government has included cocoa value addition in a wider US$3 billion commercial agriculture programme under its US$10 billion economic transformation agenda for 2027–2030. The initiative aims to strengthen domestic production, expand agro-processing and create jobs.
Ghana already has an estimated annual cocoa-grinding capacity of about 500,000 metric tons. However, agricultural analyst Joseph Opoku Gakpo said local processors operate at less than half of that capacity, mainly because of insufficient supplies of cocoa beans.
The proposed contract volume should not be confused with the country's existing annual processing capacity. The government has not disclosed the proposed arrangement's investment value, implementation schedule, or whether it would require additional facilities.
