Dangote in talks to make Ghana a cocoa processing hub

ACCRA, Ghana — Aliko Dangote is in talks with the Ghanaian government about making Ghana a hub for processing cocoa locally, under a proposed contract involving 500,000 metric tonnes of cocoa.

Ghana’s Minister of Finance, Doctor Cassiel Ato Forson, disclosed the talks in an interview on Thursday, November 12, 2026, after presenting the country’s 2027 budget to Parliament.

Forson said Dangote had approached the government about using Ghana as a base for processing cocoa locally. He said discussions were ongoing over the proposed contract, and that Dangote’s representatives wanted to formalise the arrangement. He said the terms were still under review and that no agreement had been signed.

Forson said Ghana must move beyond exporting raw cocoa beans. He said companies that buy Ghanaian cocoa should add value locally. He cited a recent visit to Bangkok for the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings, where he saw a range of cocoa products that reinforced the case for more local processing.

A new Cocoa Board Act before Parliament contains a mandatory local-processing requirement, Forson said. A legislative instrument will set a timetable for raising domestic processing from 50% to 100% by 2030. Ghana’s target is to process half of its locally produced cocoa by 2028.

The minister also said Ghana spends about $3.5 billion a year importing food products, including palm oil, sugar, rice and poultry. He said the country could cut those imports by modernising agriculture and expanding maize and soybean production for poultry feed, along with vegetable farming.

The proposed cocoa arrangement would extend Dangote’s agricultural and food investments in Africa, which include rice and sugar projects in Nigeria and a fertiliser plant in Ethiopia. The company has raised the planned investment in the Ethiopian project to more than $4 billion.