Chinese scramble for Ghana's chocolate

The large number of visitors trooped to the stand not only to sample but also buy some of the products.

With a Ghanaian cultural troupe providing foot stomping performances at the background, the visitors pushed forward to either grab free chocolates or get a taste of it on the chocolate fountain mounted by the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC). This resulted in a near stampede.

The expo brought together over 300 exhibitors of tea and tea products, coffee and accessories.

On the theme, "Promoting shared growth through the development of the tea industry," the expo sought to focus on the tea and coffee industries, strengthening information and technology exchanges through exhibitions, seminars, dialogues and field visits.

However, Ghana, which was invited as an observer to last year’s, is pushing to make cocoa a cardinal product at the expo which started originally for only tea and coffee.

The exhibition is also intended to share success stories and experiences of promoting rural development, environmental protection and growth in the income of farmers through developing tea and coffee industries and exploring effective pathways of industrial development.

Unique set up

The Ghana delegation that was led by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, included the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, Ghana's Ambassador to China, Mr Edward Boateng, the Board Chairman of the National Procurement Authority, Professor Douglas Boateng, the Managing Director of the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC), Nana Agyenim Boateng, and representatives of the private sector.

Ghana's stand was unique. Besides the cultural performance at the backstage, two chocolate fountains were mounted, with waiters and waitresses preparing hot and cold chocolate on the spot for the patrons.The drink could be taken with bread and chocolate spread or chocolate biscuits.

Added to that was a wide array of other cocoa products such as different chocolate bars and pebbles.

Also on display were some research works by the Cocoa Research Institute, on some cocoa bi-products such as cocoa brandy, cocoa wine and cocoa butter. These presented business opportunities to interested investors to develop and commercialise.

CPC’s field day

The CPC staff, assisted by some Ghanaian students in China, struggled to attend to the teeming visitors to the stand.

Ghana's stand, which was one of the busiest at the expo, recorded about 5,000 visitors daily who sampled the products, most of them ended up buying and ordering for specific products.

Patrons react

After sampling the products, some of the visitors rated Ghana's chocolate and cocoa drink as the best.

Even though they said thay had consumed chocolates from local super markets and other gift shops, what Ghana exhibited was unique.

They said they would order for more of the cocoa products in the China-Africa Expo scheduled for June this year.

In random interviews, Mr Le Mon, whom the Daily Graphic spoke to yesterday said, he heard about the Ghana stand when Dr Akoto announced it at a forum at the expo.

Speaking through an interpreter, he said he became more interested when the Chief Pharmacist at the Cocoa Clinic in Accra, Dr Edward O. Amporful, took the audience through the health benefits of cocoa.

"I have a problem with high blood pressure and so when I learnt that cocoa drink could reduce it, I became interested," he told this reporter through the interpreter.

Mr Mon said he had also bought some cocoa products for his family.

Ms Lilian Han, another patron, said she learnt that the cocoa products were good for married couples and so she had bought some for the house.

CPC MD

The CPC Managing Director, Nana Agyenim Boateng, said he was overwhelmed by the turnout at the Ghana Stand and said those were positive signs for Ghana's cocoa and chocolate.

He was grateful to Dr Akoto for making a case for Ghana to participate and exhibit at the expo.