The Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote is in talks with the Ghanaian government over a proposed cocoa-processing arrangement involving 500,000 metric tonnes, as the country seeks to retain more earnings from its agricultural produce by expanding domestic processing.
Ghana’s Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, disclosed the ongoing discussions in an interview at the weekend, after presenting the country’s 2027 Budget to Parliament.
The proposed arrangement, according to Nairametrics, would extend Dangote’s agricultural investments into cocoa processing and support Ghana’s ambition to move more of its cocoa value chain into the domestic economy.
Forson said negotiations were continuing, with the terms of the proposed contract undergoing review. He did not announce a signed agreement or disclose the investment value, processing location, implementation timetable or period covered by the proposed 500,000-tonne arrangement.
“Dangote has reached out to use Ghana as a hub to process cocoa locally,” the minister said.
“We are going through the terms, and they want to sign a contract.”
The discussions come as Ghana pursues an ambitious timetable to process 50 per cent of its locally produced cocoa by 2028 and 100 per cent by 2030.
Forson said the government wanted companies purchasing Ghanaian cocoa to establish processing operations within the country, allowing the economy to capture a greater share of the value generated beyond the export of raw beans.
The policy places domestic processing at the centre of Ghana’s efforts to strengthen its agricultural value chain, with the proposed Dangote arrangement offering a potential private-sector vehicle for advancing that objective.
According to the minister, Ghana’s position was to encourage investment in local value addition alongside purchasing its cocoa beans.
“We are not saying don’t come and buy our cocoa beans, but if you are a company out there, come and buy our cocoa beans, but add value here in Ghana,” he said.
Forson said a new Cocoa Board Act before Parliament would include a mandatory local-processing requirement. At the same time, a legislative instrument would set the timetable for increasing domestic processing to the government’s targets.
The proposed framework would give legislative backing to the processing drive. However, the minister’s comments indicated that the law and the commercial discussions with Dangote remained at different stages of consideration.
The cocoa initiative forms part of a wider agricultural modernisation programme through which Ghana hopes to expand domestic production and reduce expenditure on imported food.
Forson said the country spent approximately $3.5 billion annually importing food products, including palm oil, sugar, rice and poultry, despite possessing resources that could support increased local production.
“All we need to do is modernise agriculture,” he said.
He identified opportunities to increase maize and soybean production to supply the poultry industry, alongside expanding vegetable farming.
The minister’s comments linked the cocoa-processing ambition to a broader effort to build stronger connections between agriculture and industry. While increased farm output would improve raw-material supply, investment in processing would let the country retain more economic activity within its borders.
For the proposed cocoa arrangement, however, the next step remains concluding negotiations and clarifying the commercial terms.
The reported 500,000-tonne volume was not accompanied by details indicating whether it represented an annual commitment, a phased supply arrangement or the total quantity envisaged over the life of a contract.
Dangote’s interest in Ghana follows earlier agricultural and agro-industrial investment plans in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa.
Beyond Nigeria, Dangote signed a $2.5 billion agreement with the Ethiopian government in August 2025 to establish a fertiliser plant.
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