Government announces new cocoa prices as farmers welcome decision

The 2023-2024 cocoa season has begun with the government raising the price at which it purchases bags of cocoa from GHC800 per 64 kilogramme (kg) bag to GHC1,308.

The increase has drawn widespread commendation from all, especially from cocoa farmers and other stakeholders in the cocoa value chain.

A tonne of raw cocoa beans now costs GH20,943 as opposed to GH12,800, representing a 63.5% increase.

The increase also amounts to US$1,821, or 70.5% of the “gross free on board (FOB)” price for each tonne of cocoa beans.

The new price “is the highest to be paid to cocoa farmers across West Africa in over 50 years,” according to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who made the announcement at a durbar of chiefs and cocoa farmers at Tepa in the Ashanti Region on Saturday.

The President said that in order to accommodate farmers’ domestic needs, the government opted to start the cocoa season in September rather than the customary October.

President Akufo-Addo stated, “We are aware that farmers will be paying for their children’s schooling at this time; it is prudent to sell cocoa to meet such expenditures rather than to borrow at higher interest rates when the cocoa is readily available.”

According to him, the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the commodity’s price on the global market, which had remained relatively low.

He noted, however, that the increase in the commodity’s producer price will help to solve some of the problems the cocoa industry is currently facing, such as smuggling to neighbouring countries and illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.

Despite its specific difficulties, he praised the efforts of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to improve the lives of cocoa growers and the nation as a whole.

“COCOBOD has implemented a number of transformational projects that are having positive impacts on productivity, incomes, and climate resilience,” he said.

He explained that the accomplishments made by COCOBOD would not have been possible without the tenacity and dedication of cocoa farmers as “reliable stakeholders”.