Japanese Chocolate Giant Meiji Expands Ghana Cocoa Partnership as Brand Marks 100 Years

The Government of Ghana, Japan and Meiji Holdings signed a Letter of Intent in Accra on September 14 to strengthen cooperation on sustainable cocoa development and circular-economy initiatives.

Ghana’s Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry announced the agreement following a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of Meiji Milk Chocolate.

Trade Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare signed on behalf of Ghana, while Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Yoshimoto signed for Japan and Meiji’s chief executive initialled the agreement for the company.

The agreement builds on an important trade relationship for both countries. Ghana supplies nearly 70% of the cocoa beans imported by Japan, according to the Ghana Cocoa Board.

Trade data also show the scale of that relationship. Japan imported about $146 million worth of cocoa beans from Ghana in 2024, making the West African country its largest supplier.

Meiji adds Ghana agroforestry project

A second agreement signed around the same event gives a clearer indication of how Meiji intends to expand its sustainability work in Ghana.

Ghanaian farm and forest-restoration company Afarinick signed a separate Letter of Intent with Meiji to jointly develop an agroforestry cocoa farm.

The proposed project will combine cocoa cultivation with agroforestry and seek productive uses for plant waste generated on the farm, creating what the companies describe as a circular agroforestry cocoa model.

Ghana plans to process at least 50% of its cocoa beans locally from the 2026/27 crop season.

Neither the size of the proposed farm nor the financial value and development timetable have been disclosed.

The partnership adds to Meiji’s longstanding involvement in Ghana’s cocoa sector.

The Japanese company has worked with cocoa-growing communities in the country for years, including through programmes aimed at traceability and sustainable production.

As part of its centenary event, Meiji also presented Ghana with 10,000 ballpoint pens produced using cacao-derived bioplastic, demonstrating one potential use for materials generated from the cocoa value chain.

Ghana pushes to keep more cocoa value at home

The agreements come as Ghana seeks to extract more economic value from an industry that has traditionally exported much of its output as raw cocoa beans.

The government has directed that at least 50% of Ghana’s cocoa beans should be processed domestically from the 2026/27 season, alongside plans to increase supplies to local processors and revive the state-owned Cocoa Processing Company.

For Ghana, partnerships that extend beyond purchasing raw beans could support that strategy by bringing investment, processing, technology and new uses for cocoa by-products closer to producing communities.

The latest agreements do not include disclosed investment commitments, making it too early to determine their financial impact.

But they deepen the relationship between Ghana and a Japanese chocolate industry that already depends heavily on Ghanaian cocoa, while expanding cooperation beyond the traditional trade in raw beans.

Source: africa.businessinsider.com