Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) says through various strategic interventions, the country is making significant strides in terms of coconut production and export on the global stage.
Dr Afua Asabea Asare, the Chief Executive Officer of GEPA, said currently, Ghana was ranked 12th in world production of coconut and the number one producer in Africa.
She said: “Our coconut oil, juice and other derivatives are now sought after on international markets, thanks to their quality, taste and authenticity”.
for Trade and Industry, in a speech read on his behalf, commended GEPA and its partners including ACG, TCDA and WRCC for driving the coconut sector development agenda for sustainable economic growth in the country.
He said coconut was one of the key tree crops that the government was focusing its attention on to stimulate interventions that would create jobs, increase income, reduce poverty, and improve the overall economic wellbeing of the teeming youth in that sector.
Obrempon Hima Dekyi XIV, Paramount Chief of Upper Dixcove, who chaired the festival, said coconut had the potential to overtake cocoa as Ghana’s highest tree crop export commodity if appropriate strategies were put in place.
He therefore appealed to all traditional authorities and family heads as well as landowners to strive to make land acquisition easier for coconut farmers and investors to help harness the full potential of the coconut sector.
Source: GNA