Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority is urging the hospitality industry in Ghana to consume locally produced cocoa products.
According to Akwasi Agyeman, the move is necessary to boost the natural resources export and consumption levels for locally generated revenue.
“I want to urge our hospitality industry especially hotels, that this tea or coffee type of the beverage must stop but should be cocoa or coffee to promote the consumption of cocoa in our hospitality industry. Cocoa Process Company, COCOBOD, has led the way and it is up to us to hospitality and tourism practitioners to follow suit so that together we can have more processing and consumption of cocoa in Ghana,” Kwasi Agyeman said at the National Chocolate Day in Accra on February 14.
Managing Director for the Cocoa Processing Company, Nana Agyenim Boateng on his part noted that his outfit will continue to champion the use of value-added crops to maintain and generate revenue in cocoa.
“We’ve added six new local ingredients to most of the cocoa products, all as part of value addition because we want to as much as possible process the vision which is 50 percent of producing locally by 2021 and that is the goal of Hon. Boahen Aidoo, Dr. Afriyie Akoto and the President Akufo-Addo”
Mr Boateng added that, Ghanaians must also begin to see the health benefits of taking cocoa due to the levels of antioxidants that can prevent or slow damage to cells caused by free radicals, unstable molecules.
Chief Executive Officer for COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo in his remarks said the regular consumption of cocoa is as good as a regular intake of water and urged Ghanaians to consume more cocoa for a healthier life.
Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, Minister of Tourism and Creative Arts earlier this week launched the 2020 National Chocolate Day celebrations with a call for patronage and usage of “Made in Ghana Chocolate’.
This year’s celebration commenced from February 10 and climaxed on February 14, on the theme; “My Chocolate Experience: My Holistic Well-Being”.
According to her, the National Chocolate Day was instituted in 2005 to coincide with Valentine‘s Day, February 14 and promote the consumption of Made-in-Ghana chocolate and cocoa-based products.
