The Minister of Agriculture, Dr Owusu Akoto Afriyie, has inaugurated a seven member board of the Ghana Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC) with a charge on them to help revive the fallen fortunes of the cocoa industry.
Dr Afriyie, who administered the Oath of Office and Secrecy to the members, said the Board was taking the position at a time when the financial returns from cocoa to the economy was being challenged by the falling and erratic international prices.
Dr Afriyie challenged the new Board to bring their varied expertise to bear to achieve a significant growth in the cocoa sub-sector despite the volatility of the International market prices.
World Cocoa prices have fallen more than a third in the last three and half years and the Minister said the low prices vis-a-vis the farmers take as well as mismanagement in the past few years had left government little room to manoeuvre and tasked the Board to help deliver confidence.
He advised the Board to forthright in their decision-making on investments when prices of cocoa go up and not only focus on production capacity but infrastructure as well.
Mr Joseph Kobina Essidu, Chairman of the CMC Board, expressed appreciation to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the opportunity to serve and pledged to work to help achieve CMC’s vision of becoming a world class company and leader in cocoa marketing.
Other members of the Board are Anthony Osei Boakye; Former MP of Atwima Nwabiagya, Dr. Emmnuel Osei Tuffour, and Charles Nornoo.
The rest are Dr. Johnson P. Asiama; Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, David Nii Klotey Collison from the Ministry of Finance and Dr. K. Mensah-Aborampah.
CMC as a wholly subsidiary of the Ghana Cocoa Board was established in 1961 to among others promote, sell and deliver Ghana's Cocoa to both local cocoa processors and the international traders and processors.