Accra (Greater Accra) 28 March 2003- Guinness Ghana Limited (GBL) and Accra Brewery Limited (ABL), two major players in the brewery industry in Ghana, on Thursday welcomed the Sorghum Malt Project, saying it would reduce the huge foreign exchange spent to import barley for production.

Representatives of the two companies, who serve on the International Steering Committee of the Sorghum Project, however, declined to state by how much their foreign exchange component would be cut but said, it would be a substantial amount that would bring immense benefits to the country.

They made the comments after the inauguration of the Committee, which is chaired by the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry (MOTI), Boniface Saddique. The Sorghum Project seeks to develop and increase the production of sorghum in Northern Ghana and Nigeria through the adoption and implementation of new technologies introduced by the Food Research Institute, Ghana.

The Committee is made up of representatives from MOTI, Federal Ministry of Industry, Guinness Ghana and Nigeria, ABL, Food Research Institute, FAO, UNIDO and the Common Fund for Commodities, a European funding body.

Peter T. Kutah, Logistics Manager of ABL, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) Business Desk that the project was also aimed at reducing the poverty levels in the three Northern Regions of Ghana and certain parts of Nigeria's rural areas.

An official of GGL said they had on their own started using sorghum in their production line and expressed the hope that they would derive the maximum benefits from the project.

Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, Minister of Trade and Industry, said the project would open new opportunities in the food sector, particularly using sorghum in brewing, weaning foods and pharmaceutical industries.

"The project will also forge positive linkages with the agricultural sector through the sustainable cultivation of sorghum for industrial processing." Dr Apraku said the FRI sorghum varieties grown under irrigation and rain-fed have been tested and documented showing their suitability for malting and brewing.

He said the project is also intended to introduce improved and more hygienic ways of brewing pito, a traditional beer. The total cost of the project is fixed at 2.2 million dollars with the Ghana and Nigeria governments contributing 13.5 per cent and 4.8 per cent of the cost in kind, respectively.

The rest is shared between CFC, 1.4 million dollars (66.8 per cent), UNIDO, 200,000 dollars (8.9 per cent) and the private sector in Ghana from breweries (134,000 dollars) representing 6.0 per cent.

GRi.../

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Producer price for cashew-nuts increased

Ekumfi Essarkyir (Central Region) 28 March 2003- The producer price of a kilo of cashew nuts has been increased from 3,000 to 3,500 cedis, a statement from the Ghana National Procurement Agency (GNPA) dated 20 March 2003 and signed by S.G. Ackotia, Director of Exports.

Albert Kofi Mensah, chairman of the Central Region Co-Operative Cashew Farmers Union told the Ghana News Agency at Ekumfi Essarkyir that that the GNPA had also released to the union funds for the purchase of the crop.

Mensah commended the agency for its efforts to boost the morale of cashew farmers most of whom were contemplating abandoning their farms due to the lack of ready market for the produce.

He appealed to the farmers to take advantage of the new producer price and the ready market to reactivate their farms. He said over 50 bags of the nuts had been bought at the Essarkyir depot and appealed to the farmers to sell their produce to the nearest depot for prompt payment.

GRi.../

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