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By John Justice Ahoto
The Cocoa Marketing Company (Ghana) Limited (CMC) has launched a 24-hour operational model to accelerate the movement of cocoa from warehouses to the international market and strengthen Ghana’s position as a leading premium cocoa origin.
The initiative, dubbed “Offload 24, Load 24 and Export 24,” is being implemented as part of government’s 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme.
The model is expected to remove operational bottlenecks, reduce delays in cocoa logistics and enable Ghana to respond more efficiently to shipping schedules and international market demands.
Launching the initiative in Tema, the Managing Director of CMC, Dr. Wisdom Kofi Dogbey, said the traditional practice of operating mainly within conventional working hours was no longer sufficient for an export sector competing in a 24-hour global economy.
“The world does not stop at 5 p.m. or 4 p.m., and neither should Ghana’s cocoa ambition,” Dr. Dogbey said.
Under the new arrangement, Offload 24 will provide round-the-clock receipt of cocoa from Licensed Buying Companies, while Load 24 will extend loading and deliveries to local cocoa processing companies beyond the traditional working day.
Export 24, meanwhile, will facilitate continuous inspection, container stuffing, sealing, documentation and other export procedures to enable shipments to meet vessel schedules.
CMC said the initiative would be implemented in coordination with key stakeholders, including the Ghana Cocoa Board, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Meridian Port Services, Ghana Revenue Authority-Customs, shipping lines, hauliers, cocoa processors, international buyers and the Quality Control Company.
The company said the new system is expected to reduce truck queues and congestion at takeover centres, lower logistics costs, improve the utilisation of warehouses, weighbridges and terminals, and accelerate cash-flow cycles across the cocoa value chain.
The implementation will be phased, with attention to infrastructure upgrades, staff training and sensitisation, security and safety measures, technology deployment and continuous performance monitoring.
The Chairman of the Ghana Cocoa Board, Dr. Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, commended CMC for translating the government’s 24-Hour Economy policy into a practical intervention within the cocoa sector.
He said the initiative was particularly important because cocoa supports more than 800,000 farming households, while CMC plays a central role in moving Ghana’s cocoa to international markets.
Dr. Ofosu Ampofo said round-the-clock operations would help reduce delays and improve warehouse and logistics efficiency, ultimately strengthening Ghana’s competitiveness.
He stressed the need to align COCOBOD’s infrastructure and logistics operations with the 24-hour activities already taking place at the country’s ports.
The Presidential Advisor and Coordinator of the 24-Hour Economy Secretariat, Dr. Goosie Tanoh, said the CMC initiative reflects the broader objective of the government’s 24-Hour Economy policy.
He explained that the policy was not intended to compel businesses to operate three shifts, but to create the incentives and enabling environment for companies to expand production and maximise the use of their assets.
“You can’t force anybody to do 1-3-3. What you need to do is to create an incentive and the environment that allows them to do that,” Dr. Tanoh said.
He stressed the need for Ghana to move beyond the export of raw materials by promoting local processing and value addition.
According to him, the country must progress from exporting raw cocoa to producing premium chocolate and from exporting other raw commodities to developing industries capable of processing them into finished products.
The Member of Parliament for Tema East, Isaac Ashai Odamtten, who attended the launch, also urged CMC staff and other stakeholders to avoid practices that could undermine industrial growth in Tema.
He said a thriving industrial and business environment would create more opportunities for employment, particularly for the growing number of unemployed young people.
CMC believes the 24-hour cocoa model could create additional employment opportunities through multiple shifts while reducing turnaround times and giving international buyers greater confidence in Ghana’s ability to fulfil contracted export volumes on schedule.
For an economy that depends significantly on cocoa for foreign exchange earnings, stakeholders say improving efficiency throughout the export chain will be critical to supporting farmers, processors, traders and the wider national economy.
The “Offload 24, Load 24 and Export 24” initiative therefore represents a significant shift in the operational model of Ghana’s cocoa export chain, with CMC seeking to ensure that the movement of cocoa from warehouse to vessel keeps pace with the demands of the global market.
