A FIRST PEEP AT ACCEA 29 



them, of which Accra is justifiably very proud, is built 

 and run on the lines of a European departmental 

 store. Most of the shops cater for native custom only, 

 and specialize in what are known as "trade goods "; 

 cotton materials done up in long lengths and sold only 

 by the piece, salt, hardware, kerosene, and beads are 

 some of the principal lines in trade goods. 



However wide or limited be the range of a factory's 

 operations, cocoa buying on a large scale is, as a rule, 

 one of its principal activities; indeed, some of the 

 factories do no business other than cocoa buying. 



The majority of the factories in the Gold Coast 

 and Ashanti are owned by British firms, or groups of 

 firms. Two 01 three French companies are, however, 

 among the big proprietors. America, too, is now 

 anxious to acquire an interest in established factories, 

 and is also on the spot looking for opportunities to 

 open up on her own account. 



Every important organization operating on the 

 Coast has a chain of factories, consisting of central 

 establishments in Accra and Coomassie, the two hubs 

 of the cocoa industry, and branch premises in the 

 principal cocoa-growing districts. Large stores for 

 warehousing cocoa, until such time as it can be railed 

 and shipped, are a feature of all the factories ; even in 

 the remotely outlying districts many of the stores can 

 accommodate 5,000 bags, each containing 140 Ibs. of 

 cocoa beans, and this though they are within motor 

 lorry access of clearing stations that have stores with 

 a 15,000 or 20,000 bag capacity. 



Each chain of factories is controlled from home 

 by its owners, the actual cocoa buyers. The head- 

 quarters of most of the directorates are in Liverpool, 

 Manchester, or London. The West African staff ot 



