The Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahen Aidoo, has tasked Ghanaians to patronize intake to drum up support for chocolate and consumption among the citizenry.

Boahen Aidoo tasked Ghanaians to create a local consumption base for cocoa products which will help Ghanaians derive the immense health benefits from cocoa consumption.

Speaking on ‘Pae Mu Ka’ with Lawyer Ohene Gyan on Accra based Kingdom FM 107.7, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, “It is extremely important for all Ghanaians to cherish our cocoa and, for that matter, chocolate and other cocoa-based products which will help in raising revenue and enhance other health benefits.” he said.

However, he expressed delight at the growing acceptance of cocoa by Ghanaians as the preferred gift of love.

He called for a paradigm shift where Africans will enjoy the products of their own crops for which thousands of farmers toil annually.

There were also soap, pomade and alcoholic beverages made from cocoa with accompanying literature on the nutritional and other benefits of cocoa.

Background

Aside from chocolates, the CPC also produces cocoa products like pebbles, natural cocoa powder, chocolate butter spread, and instant drinking chocolate mixture.

Ghana’s chocolates have wide global acclaim for their natural and distinct taste. The flagship brand is the Golden Tree Kingsbite Milk Chocolate. The CPC has gone on to introduce other flavours over the years.

Until neighbouring Ivory overtook Ghana as the largest cocoa producer on the continent, the country held that title for decades. History has it that the first cocoa seeds were brought to Ghana from the Cameroonian island of Fernando Po by one Tetteh Quarshie.