Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin (second from left), along with Lotte and local government officials, look around a cacao firm in Suhum, Ghana, on Tuesday. (Lotte Group)

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, alongside executives from the group's Korean and Japanese subsidiaries, visited Ghana to support the sustainable sourcing of cacao, a key ingredient in their signature chocolate product.

As part of the Sustainable Cocoa Bean Project, a joint initiative by Lotte's Korean and Japanese branches, the visit included Lee Young-gu, head of Lotte's food division; Lee Chang-yeop, CEO of Lotte Wellfood; and Genichi Tamatsuka, CEO of Lotte Holdings.

Lotte explained that this initiative stemmed from concerns that recent heat waves and crop diseases in Ghana could negatively impact cocoa production. Of note, this year marks the 50th anniversary of Ghana Chocolate, the company's signature product in Korea, and its 60th anniversary in Japan.

The project focuses on sustainably securing cacao by improving farming practices in Ghana through enhanced supply chain monitoring, providing advanced agricultural techniques, cacao seedlings and fertilizers, in partnership with local partners.

Both Lotte's Korean and Japanese branches plan to contract with local cacao farms and jointly purchase cacao beans. Part of the cost savings from this cooperative purchase will be reinvested into improving monitoring systems for child labor, developing agricultural training programs and building essential infrastructure.

Lotte also presented 130,000 cacao seedlings to the Ghana Cocoa Board, the government agency overseeing cocoa production, processing and marketing in Ghana.

In addition, later this month, Lotte’s volunteer group from Korea and Japan will visit Ghana to donate upcycled cocoa shell notebooks and pencil cases to approximately 4,000 children.

“I sincerely thank all the stakeholders in Ghana for their efforts in producing high-quality cacao, enabling Ghana Chocolate to be loved by our customers over the past 50 years,” Shin said. “Korean and Japanese Lotte will actively cooperate to ensure sustainable cacao bean production."

During his stay, Shin also met with Wamkele Mene, the secretary-general of the African Continental Free Trade Area, a regional free trade bloc established in 2021, to explore expanding Lotte’s presence in the African market.

By Hwang Joo-young (flylikekite@heraldcorp.com)