Re:Ghana will no longer sell cocoa to Switzerland
by tshaddox on Friday March 19, 2021 @03:49PM
(#26517519)
> If the industry they work in can't compete their entire income is reduced to zero.
But I thought we're talking about a time period before that industry even exists.
Re:Ghana will no longer sell cocoa to Switzerland
by imtringued on Saturday March 20, 2021 @09:16AM
(#26523002)
They still have a very important cocoa industry that employs people. If they cease trade and the chocolate industry does not grow quickly enough then some of those farmers will quit.
If the industry they work in can't compete their entire income is reduced to zero.
That can knock out related industries as well and ultimately leave the country exposed to currency collapse and hyperinflation as the exporting countries decide that this country has nothing it really wants any more while they still desperately need imports.
This happened to Venezuela (after local industrialists declared war on Chavez in 2002 he effectively set out to destroy them) and Zimbabwe (when Muagabe dispossessed farmers from their land, rendering it unproductive).
The US is also exposed to this risk. It's steadily but very slowly losing hi tech manufacturing capabilities - something that takes decades to get back once lost (due to the network effect and loss of skills).