The economy of Ghana has a diverse and rich resource base, including the manufacturing and exportation of digital technology goods, automotive and ship construction and exportation, and the exportation of diverse and rich resources such as hydrocarbons and industrial minerals. These have given Ghana one of the highest GDP per capita in West Africa. Owing to a GDP rebasement, in 2011 Ghana became the fastest-growing economy in the world.
Transport in Ghana is accomplished by road, rail, air and water. Ghana's transportation and communications networks are centered in the southern regions, especially the areas in which gold, cocoa, and timber are produced. The northern and central areas are connected through a major road system.
The cocoa bean or simply cocoa, also called cacao, is the dried and fully fermented seed of Theobroma cacao, from which cocoa solids and cocoa butter can be extracted. Cocoa beans native to the Amazon rainforest are the basis of chocolate, and Mesoamerican foods including tejate, an indigenous Mexican drink.
J.H. Whittaker & Sons, Ltd (Whittaker's) is a confectionery manufacturer specialising in palm oil-free chocolate and based in Porirua, New Zealand. Whittaker's is the largest chocolate brand in New Zealand. Approximately 30% of their production is now exported. The company controls its entire manufacturing process in its facility in Porirua, identifying itself as a "bean-to-bar" manufacturer. James Henry Whittaker (1868–1947) started the business in Christchurch in 1896 and it was later moved to Wellington.
Tema is a city on the Bight of Benin and Atlantic coast of Ghana. It is located 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of the capital city; Accra, in the region of Greater Accra, and is the capital of the Tema Metropolitan District. As of 2013, Tema is the eleventh most populous settlement in Ghana, with a population of approximately 161,612 people – a marked decrease from its 2005 figure of 209,000. The Greenwich Meridian passes directly through the city. Tema is locally nicknamed the "Harbour City" because of its status as Ghana's largest seaport. It consists of 25 different communities which are numbered accordingly with each of them having easy access to the basic amenities.
Aburi is a town in the Akuapim South Municipal District of the Eastern Region of south Ghana famous for the Aburi Botanical Gardens and the Odwira festival. Aburi has a population of 18,701 people as of 2013.
Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company is a chocolate company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Omanhene's chocolate beans come from the forests of Ghana. The difference between Omanhene's chocolate and their competitors is that Omanhene's chocolate bars are made and processed in Ghana, whereas competitors buy the beans from a tropical country and ship them to countries like Canada or the United States to make chocolate bars.
Tetteh Quarshie was a pre-independence Ghanaian agriculturalist and the person directly responsible for the introduction of cocoa crops to Ghana, which today constitute one of the major export crops of the Ghanaian economy. Quarshie travelled to the island of Fernando Po in 1870 and returned in 1876 to Ghana in order to introduce the crop. He died on Christmas Day 1892.
Agriculture in Ghana consists of a variety of agricultural products and is an established economic sector, providing employment on a formal and informal basis. It is represented by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Ghana produces a variety of crops in various climatic zones which range from dry savanna to wet forest which run in east–west bands across Ghana. Agricultural crops, including yams, grains, cocoa, oil palms, kola nuts, and timber, form the base of agriculture in Ghana's economy. In 2013 agriculture employed 53.6% of the total labor force in Ghana.
Industry in Ghana accounts for about 24.5% of total GDP. However, Ghana's industrial production is rising at a 7.8% rate, giving it the 38th fastest growing industrial production in the world due to government industrialization policies.
Ivory Coast leads the world in production and export of the cocoa beans used in the manufacture of chocolate, as of 2012, supplying 38% of cocoa produced in the world. West Africa collectively supplies two thirds of the world's cocoa crop, with Ivory Coast leading production at 1.8 million tonnes as of 2017, and nearby Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Togo producing additional 1.55 million tonnes. Ivory Coast overtook Ghana as the world's leading producer of cocoa beans in 1978, and today is highly dependent on the crop, which accounts for 40% of national export income. The primary non-African competitor of Ivory Coast is Indonesia, which went from having almost nonexistent domestic cocoa industry in the 1970s to becoming one of the largest producers in the market by the early 2000s. According to the UN FAO, Indonesia overtook Ghana and became the second-largest producer worldwide in 2006. Large chocolate producers such as Cadbury, Hershey's, and Nestle buy Ivorian cocoa futures and options through Euronext whereby world prices are set.
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is a Ghanaian government-controlled institution that fixes the buying price for cocoa in Ghana. Farmers are protected from the volatile prices on the world market through the price-fixing. Besides the higher quality hybrid seeds are sold by the organization and some research on cocoa plant-related diseases are also carried out.
Tema Harbour is a harbour located in Tema in the southeastern part of Ghana, along the Gulf of Guinea. Tema Harbour is a member of the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH).
The environmental impact of cocoa production includes deforestation, soil contamination, and herbicide resistance. The majority of cocoa farms are now located in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana.
India-Ghana relations are the bilateral relations between India and Ghana. As members of the Commonwealth, India maintains a High Commission in Accra and Ghana has its High Commission in New Delhi.
Cocoa is the chief agricultural export of Ghana and Ghana's main cash crop. Ghana is the second largest cocoa exporter in the world, after Ivory Coast. Ghana's cocoa cultivation, however, is noted within the developing world to be one of the most modelled commodities and valuables.
Akua Donkor is a Ghanaian politician, founder and leader of Ghana Freedom Party (GFP).
Kofi Koduah Sarpong is a Ghanaian business executive and consultant. He is a member of the New Patriotic Party of Ghana. He served as Executive Chairman of Ghanaian football club, Kumasi Asante Kotoko from 2010 to 2013.
Ghana–Mexico relations are the diplomatic relations between the Republic of Ghana and the United Mexican States. Both nations are members of the United Nations.
Patricia Poku-Diaby is a Ghanaian businesswoman, cocoa merchant and the CEO of Plot Enterprise Ghana Limited. In 2015, she was named the eighth richest person in Ghana and the richest woman in Ghana, with a net worth of $720 million.
