The Chief of Staff, Dr Julius Debrah, has joined the Ambassador of Japan to Ghana, H.E. Hiroshi Yoshimoto, and key stakeholders in Ghana’s cocoa and chocolate industry to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Meiji Milk Chocolate.
The milestone celebration brought together the leadership of Meiji, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), cocoa farmers and other distinguished partners to celebrate a century of Meiji’s contribution to the global chocolate industry.
Dr Debrah, who represented the government at the event, conveyed congratulations from President John Dramani Mahama and the Government of Ghana to Meiji on attaining the significant milestone.
He described the centenary not merely as a celebration of chocolate, but as an opportunity to reflect on the deep connections between Ghana’s cocoa sector and Japan’s technological and industrial expertise.
Beyond chocolate
According to Dr Debrah, the relationship between Ghana and Meiji symbolised the importance of building stronger partnerships that would ensure that Ghana derived greater value from its cocoa resources.
He stressed that behind every chocolate product was the hard work of thousands of Ghanaian cocoa farmers whose contribution remained critical to the global cocoa and chocolate value chain.
He said Ghana’s vision must therefore extend beyond the production and export of raw cocoa beans to greater local processing, value addition, job creation and technology transfer.
Dr Debrah said the government was committed to transforming the cocoa sector by ensuring that more of the value generated from Ghana’s cocoa remained within the country.
He noted that President Mahama’s reforms were aimed at achieving at least 50 per cent local processing, a move he said would create employment opportunities, strengthen local industries and help retain more value from cocoa production within Ghana.
Technology transfer
The Chief of Staff also highlighted the emerging partnership and innovation involving Meiji in the development of cocoa bioplastics.
He described the initiative as an exciting frontier that could open up new opportunities for Ghana in technology transfer, local manufacturing and environmental sustainability.
According to him, innovations that converted cocoa-related materials into useful products had the potential to broaden the economic benefits of cocoa beyond conventional chocolate and food products.
He said such developments could contribute to the establishment of a circular economy in which agricultural resources and by-products were utilised efficiently, while reducing waste and promoting sustainable industrial development.
Ghana-Japan partnership
Dr Debrah further emphasised the importance of the longstanding friendship between Ghana and Japan, describing the relationship as one with significant potential for economic and technological cooperation.
He said Ghana valued Japan’s partnership in areas including agriculture, industrial development, technology and human-capacity development.
He expressed the hope that the relationship would continue to deepen, particularly in ways that would support Ghana’s industrialisation agenda and create opportunities for young people and local businesses.
The Chief of Staff said the Meiji centenary provided an opportunity for Ghana and Japan to look beyond the achievements of the past century and explore new areas of collaboration for the future.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for local businesses, farmers and international partners to participate meaningfully in Ghana’s economic transformation.
Dr Debrah said the future of Ghana’s cocoa industry must be built around farmers, value addition, innovation and sustainable production.
He added that partnerships such as those between Ghana and Japan could help accelerate the transition from a raw-material-dependent economy to one that increasingly processed its resources locally and created greater economic opportunities at home.
The centenary celebration therefore served as both a commemoration of Meiji’s 100 years of excellence and a platform to strengthen the shared vision of Ghana and Japan for innovation, industrial development and sustainable economic growth.
Dr Julius Debrah expressed confidence that the enduring friendship between the two countries would continue to grow and produce mutually beneficial opportunities for their peoples.
