SECTOR CAPABILITIES - Coconut from Ghana
Ghana is endowed with the ideal climatic conditions for increased production of coconut for both the domestic and foreign markets. The crop thrives very well in the tropical rain forest zone and along the coastal belt. It is usually grown in smallholder plantations in the six out of the ten regions of the country. Total annual production of coconut currently stands at approximately 395,000 and 403,905 Metric Tonnes for 2018 and 2019 respectively
Currently the majority of coconut is consumed domestically, within Ghana. However there is currently a deliberate effort by the Ghana Government to promote expansion of the acreages under coconut cultivation to take advantage of the increasing demand in the international markets. To this end, Government is making short maturing, improved quality and disease-resistant seedlings available to farmers and farmer associations to expand their coconut farms. This intervention has caught on well with the generality of the farming communities. More details are to be found here: https://www.gepaghana.org/gepa-supports-coconut-sector-60000-seedlings/.
GEPA is currently strengthening coconut related sector associations by providing training programmes on e.g. business skills and organizational strengthening. There are two associations in Ghana representing the coconut sector:
1.Coconut Farmers Association of Ghana (COFAG)
The association brings together farmers and aims to produce quality coconut for exporters. The telephone number of the COFAG President is +233-204432676.
2. Coconut Producers and Exporters Association of Ghana (COPEAG)
The association represents the interests of producers and exporters of coconut. The telephone number is +233-244357229.
Reasons to buy
Ghanaian coconut provides the following superior benefits and advantages:
- Organic by method of cultivating.
- Availability of improved and high-yielding exportable varieties.
- Proximity of Ghana to the EU, which is the country’s main market.
- Strong and ongoing government support.
- Support from Research & scientific institutions.
- Ideal climatic conditions and irrigable lands for large coconut plantation farming.
- Rapid expansion in farm sizes across the six growing regions.
- More and more processing facilities are being set-up to do local processing.
Trade performance
Featured exporters
Bomarts Farms Limited
Bomarts produces fresh and dried pineapples and mangoes for the local and international markets. The company processes the three most common varieties of pineapple – MD2, Smooth cayenne, and Sugarloaf. It also processes mangoes, coconut, banana and papaya into dried fruit. The company sources raw materials from both smallholder farmers…Show: Bomarts Farms Limited
MELACH COCONUT PROCESSING FARM
Melach Coconut Processing Farm is a limited liability company specialized in processing coconut into organic products such as (1) high quality 100% organic certified which is located in Kumasi, Ghana. The company was registered as a company in January 2016 but has been operational fulltime since 2014. They currently produce…Show: MELACH COCONUT PROCESSING FARM
GKV Investments Limited
Established in 2017, GKV Investments Limited is a company firmly rooted in the production of very high quality virgin coconut oil in Ghana. The company interacts with local farmers within the Western region of Ghana, to source for high quality nuts to produce the ava virgin coconut oil. The western…Show: GKV Investments Limited
Useful links
International Coconut Community
The International Coconut Community (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization of coconut producing countries organized in 1969 under the aegis of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP). The ICC Secretariat is located in Jakarta, Indonesia and is headed by an Executive Director.
ICC currently has 20 coconut producing member countries accounting for over 90 percent of world coconut production and exports of coconut products. The ICC member countries include eight Asian countries: India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Timor Leste, nine Pacific countries: Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu, one Caribbean country: Jamaica, one African country: Kenya and one country in South America: Guyana. Membership to the Community is open to all coconut producing countries, with the unanimous consent of the existing members and by acceding to the agreement establishing the Coconut Community.
