5th International cocoa chocolate festival launched

The fifth edition of an international cocoa chocolate festival, an initiative that seeks to encourage the consumption of cocoa in Ghana and abroad, has been launched in Accra.

The event, which is a partnership between the government and Centuries International Cocoa Chocolate Festival Organisation Limited, a local company, is scheduled to come off in September this year, at the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange in Accra.

Speaking at the launch in Accra last weekend, the Chief Executive of Centuries International, Mr Ben Amponsah Fordjour, said this year’s event would begin at the various municipal, metropolitan and district assemblies in the Greater Accra Region.

“We want to educate workers at the various MMDAs about the health benefits of cocoa and also expose them to the potential offer in that sector,” he said.

Employment opportunities

Mr Fordjour said the initiative was also aimed at creating jobs for the youth, especially those within the ages of 18 and 40 years.

That, he explained, would be achieved through the provision of vending machines, which would be installed in offices at the ministries, hospitals, schools and other public places to dispense cocoa drinks.

Local patronage

In a speech read on his behalf, the Minster of Trade and Industry, Dr Ekow Spio-Garbrah, underscored the need for Ghanaians to develop confidence in local products, saying that it had the same, if not better, quality than foreign products.