The Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC) Ghana Limited has secured firm commitments in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Ghana’s semi-finished cocoa products.
Formally announced in a company statement on Tuesday, 7 July 2026, the agreements strengthen the commercial footing of the country’s push toward domestic value addition under President John Dramani Mahama’s 50 per cent local processing mandate.
The trade commitments were finalised by the CMC Managing Director, Dr Wisdom Kofi Dogbey, during meetings with leading Gulf commodities institutions and regional processing bodies.
The targeted arrangements are designed to guarantee immediate export demand for cocoa liquor, butter, cake, and powder produced from Ghana’s existing, underutilised grinding capacity.
The state exporter is moving to close the processing mandate’s largest commercial vulnerability: ensuring that higher domestic grindings convert smoothly into secured foreign exchange earnings rather than unsold warehouse stock.
During the engagements in Dubai, Dr Dogbey met with the executive leadership of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) to study their integrated coffee and tea sourcing models.
A dedicated DMCC cocoa trading wing is expected to commence operations, positioning the ecosystem as a primary gateway for Ghanaian cocoa derivatives to seamlessly enter wider Middle Eastern and Asian markets.
Senior DMCC Executive Ahmad Hamza characterised the trade expansion as a mutually beneficial arrangement, noting that plugging Ghana’s semi-finished derivatives directly into Dubai’s established network of processors and traders will allow the West African nation to successfully diversify a customer base traditionally concentrated among European grinders.
Further diplomatic engagements in Riyadh produced parallel commitments to import Ghanaian cocoa products to anchor Saudi Arabia’s expanding confectionery and food-processing sectors.
The long-term supply agreements are strategically aligned with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 food-sustainability and economic-diversification targets. CMC officials emphasised that the national value-addition directive does not require building new factories, focusing instead on utilising idle, installed processing plants already in the country.
Dr Dogbey noted that as the sole authorised exporter of Ghana’s cocoa, CMC’s institutional role is shifting from marketing raw beans to constructing advanced commercial partnerships that match expanded grindings with verified global demand.
Source: Access Agric
