The Secretary Manager of the Cocoa Industry Board, Leroy Grey is suggesting that a cess be placed on imported cocoa products to aid the local industry.
Speaking at the recent RJR Group News Forum, Grey argued that income gained from the cess on these imports would benefit the sector.
“We import an average of about 1.2 billion dollars annually in cocoa product. We should take cess from these imports to help develop the industry,” Grey said.
Cocoa production has fallen in recent years because farmers are said to be reluctant to grow the crop as they say they are not being paid on time by the Board.
Meanwhile, CEO of local confectionery Chocolate Dreams, Michelle Smith does not support the suggestion of a cess on imported cocoa, she said due to the lack of cocoa produced and the absence of a processing plant, she has to purchase processed cocoa beans from a regional distributor .
She argues that the cess will only threaten the survival of local confectioneries.
“There’s nobody processing here at all – they can supply themselves but not me…. ,” she said.
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