Statement By H.E. John Agyekum Kufuor, President Of The Republic Of Ghana At The Groundbreaking Ceremony Of Cargill

Mr. Chairman,
Ministers of State, Members of Parliament,
Mrs. Pamela Bridgewater, US Ambassador to Ghana,
Mrs. Lidi Remmelzwaal, Royal Netherlands Ambassador,
Mr. Paul Naar, President, of Cargill Foods,
Mr. Ron Christenson, Corporate Vice President of Cargill,
Management and Staff of Cargill Ghana Ltd.,
Our Esteemed Traditional Rulers,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

Yesterday, I addressed the on-going AGOA Forum in Accra and encouraged the American Private Sector to relocate some of their businesses here to take advantage of Ghana's business friendly atmosphere.
I am therefore happy to perform the ground breaking ceremony this morning, to welcome Cargill to Ghana as one of the trailblazers. We expect more American companies to follow in its steps.

The presence of Cargill is one more manifestation of the growing investor confidence in Ghana's economy. Additionally, it testifies to success of this government's policies and measures which have put the economy on the growth path.

High inflation and high interest rates which were for decades the bane of the economy have both come down. The Central Bank's prime rate stands at 12.5% while the base rates of banks range between 18% and 21.4%. The significance of this is appreciated on the fact that the average lending rate at the banks has dropped from a high of 52% in 2000 to the current of 23%.

The local currency, the Cedi, has stabilized against the major trading currencies, giving the bank of Ghana the confidence to re-denominate it to facilitate business transaction. The re-denominated cedi is valued at one US dollar and some cents.

Between 2001 and now, the economy has witnessed consistent growth from 3.2% to the current of 6.5% for this year.

Mr Chairman, a hall mark of this Government is its special focus on Private Sector Development. Policies and measures directed at the Sector's development include the removal of legal and administrative bottlenecks which impede the sector's growth, improvements in business registration processes, reforms in the financial sector, reduction of corporate tax, other tax rotates and holidays, improvements at the export processing zones, and prompt adjudication of business-related cases at the commercial courts.

The success of these measures have received international commendation and Ghana has been listed by the World Bank among the first 10 reformist countries in the world. Ghana is now one of the preferred investment destinations in Africa.

Mr Chairman, Government is happy to welcome Cargill into Ghana's cocoa industry. As an all time leader in the cocoa and chocolate supply chain, Cargill is no doubt aware that cocoa is the back bone of Ghana's economy.

I take some pride in acknowledging the steady rise in cocoa production from 341,000 tonnes in 2001/2002 crop year to 740,458 tonnes in the 2005/2006 season which is the highest ever in the history of the crop in Ghana. Every effort is being made to sustain the high production levels to derive more income and also, to ensure uninterrupted supply of the beans to the local processing factories, without losing the quality of the beans.

Ladies and Gentlemen, in working toward higher production, we have not been oblivious of the history of cocoa which shows that increased production has not always brought joy to the country and its farmers. Indeed, higher production has on some occasions resulted in a slump to the consternation of producers. Ghana has had its fair share of such ordeals. This is why we welcome the value addition through processing.

To avoid such an occurrence, and to derive maximum returns on investments in cocoa and other agricultural produce, Government's policy is value addition through processing, which also creates employment opportunities in the processing factories.

Already, the country has 4 cocoa processing factories. Cargill is welcome as the fifth. We are told Cargill is investing about US$70 million to process 65,000 tonnes of cocoa beans annually into liquor, butter and powder for export. The benefits of the investment in terms of foreign exchange earnings, employment, manpower development, technology transfer and social development are huge.

Besides, with Cargill's global headquarters located in the US and its products targeted at the US market, the company should be a vehicle for growing Ghana's and Africa's trade with America so that the theme for the on-going 6th AGOA Forum: "As Trade Grows, Africa Prospers: Optimizing the Benefits under AGOA", could be realized in the shortest possible time.

Ladies and gentlemen, all of us, the Government and indeed everyone, have to support the company to operate at maximum capacity and efficiency for our mutual benefit.

I would also want to use this opportunity to inform prospective foreign investors that Ghana, like most Sub-Saharan African countries, offers one of the highest returns on investment. They should therefore take advantage of the environment to promote win-win partnerships with their counterpart Ghanaian investors.

On behalf of the government and people of Ghana, I wish Cargill success in its business venture in Ghana.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is now my pleasure to perform the ground breaking ceremony to usher Cargill into corporate Ghana.

Thank you and may God bless us all.