Procurement

Cocoa purchases in Ghana have undergone a series of transformations, through a unitary system to multiple systems back to a unitary system. In the early 1990s, the multiple systems in operation currently were settled upon. By far it is the system that has a good test of time and appears workably acceptable by both the Government and Cocobod on one hand, and Buyers and Farmers on the other hand.

The Government of Ghana, through a legislative instrument called PNDC Law 81, mandated COCOBOD to introduce a multiple purchasing system in the early 1990s. By this legislation, COCOBOD was tasked to implement rules and regulations guiding the conduct of this innovation. Hence the concept of internal marketing of Cocoa in Ghana. In the process, companies are expected to apply for a license to buy cocoa for Cocobod. These prospective buyers are put through processes of interviews, inspection of sheds, logistics, scrutiny of statements of account to ensure financial capability etc. Successful companies are granted a license to buy Cocoa under the supervision of Cocobod.

Asempa Sourcing Ltd, a Licensed Buying Company (LBC) is currently operating in four (4) regions out of the six (6) cocoa regions of the country, namely in the Ashanti, Central, the Bono Ahafo, and Eastern regions. The company purchases cocoa from farmers within its Operational Districts through commissioned Purchasing Clerks, who are to ensure and required to insist on quality standards. The beans purchased are graded and sealed by a Quality Control Company according to export standards set by COCOBOD.

The graded-bagged beans are then transported from District Depots to the designated take-over-centers at either the port at Tema, Takoradi or Kaase ports where the Cocoa Marketing Company-CMC (the world’s largest single seller and exporter of premium cocoa) take over the consignment. Statistics show that Switzerland uses about 64% of imported quality cocoa beans from Ghana to produce ‘sweet’ chocolates.