The beverage sector is a sector that supports a thriving business community of beverage producers and suppliers in Ghana. This sector of the Association of Ghana Industries is growing at a rather fast pace in a healthy and competitive market space.

African countries spend more than USD 60 billion annually importing food for their growing populations, but the continent has a potential to become a major food exporter. Large areas of unused arable land, low fertilizer use and poor irrigation mean there is scope for improving yields in Africa which are among the lowest in the world.

A rising middle class continues to boost African demand for food products, especially for processed and packaged food, creating a continental food market that the World Bank estimates could be worth USD 1 trillion in 2030. While exporters in Asia and Brazil stand to gain in the short term, BMI Research (2015) forecasts that food producers, processors and shippers in Kenya and South Africa and retailers in Nigeria are all well placed to serve the growing African consumer market.

Real GDP growth in Ghana is expected to accelerate in 2016 and 2017driven by increasing oil production, improving electricity generation and diminishing deficits. This will increase disposable incomes over the next decade in Ghana. Consumers will have more money to spend on essentials as well as on discretionary goods. Growing opportunities across the food, drink and mass grocery retail sectors will most likely interest businesses already present in Ghana, as well as those looking to enter the market (BMI, 2016).

Agriculture remains the most significant sector of the economy, accounting for about half of the GDP and a significant chunk of export inflows. Yam was the leading product in Ghana valued at USD 1.8 billion in 2013. Cassava and Cocoa Beans ranked second and third valued at USD 1.7 billion and USD 868 million respectively. Ghana is the world’s second largest cocoa producer behind Cote D’Ivoire. Other top products include plantains (USD 759 million) maize (USD 250 million) and groundnuts (USD 184 million) (FAO, 2016).

SOURCES: FAOSTAT 2016

Adwoa Aaba Arthur holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and English from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the USA; a Juris Doctorate (J.D) Law Degree from the Michigan State University College of Law, East Lancing in the USA; and a Qualifying Certificate in Law from the Ghana School of Law. Ms. Arthur is a member of the New Jersey Bar Association and the Ghana Bar Association.

She is currently the Beverage Sector Chair at the Association of Ghana Industries.

She joined ABL in January 2018 as the Legal & Corporate Affairs Director. Ms. Arthur began her career in 2003 as a judicial law clerk with the First Judicial District on Pennsylvania in the USA. She then worked as a Contract Attorney and Document Review Analyst in Washington, DC in the USA. In Ghana she worked as a State Attorney with the Ministry of Justice Attorney General’s Department. She moved on to work with HFC Bank “Ebankese” as a legal officer. Prior to working with ABL she worked at Scancom PLC (MTN Ghana) as the Regulatory Affairs / Compliance Manager.