The President John Mahama’s government has announced a significant increase in the producer price of cocoa for the 2025/2026 season, effective August 7, 2025.
Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Minister of Finance, revealed that the new price will be $5,040 per tonne, representing a 62.58% increase from the previous season’s price of $3,100 per tonne.
The new price translates to GH₵51,660 per tonne and GH₵3,228.75 per 64-kilogram bag of cocoa, based on an average exchange rate of GH₵10.25 to the US dollar.
Alignment with President Mahama’s Promise
The increase represents 70% of the gross Free-On-Board (FOB) value of $7,200 per tonne, aligning with President John Mahama’s commitment to pay cocoa farmers 70% of the FOB price.
Comparison to Previous Administration
The previous administration set the FOB value at $4,850 per tonne and the producer price at $3,100, representing 63.9% of FOB, despite better world market prices.
Impact on Farmers
While the increase is expected to benefit farmers, concerns have been raised about the potential impact of the strong cedi on the real earnings of farmers. With the cedi’s appreciation, the gains from the increased producer price may be reduced when converted to local currency.
The new producer price is expected to have a direct bearing on the income and welfare of hundreds of thousands of Ghanaian cocoa farmers who depend on the crop for their livelihood.
MINORITY IN PARLIAMENT DEMANDS IMMEDIATE INCREASE IN FARM-GATE PRICE OF COCOA
The Minority in Ghana’s Parliament has taken notice of recent developments on the international market relative to the prices of cocoa.
We have observed that global cocoa prices have been soaring in recent time, hitting an all-time high of $10,000 USD per ton.
The recent increase in cocoa prices on the world market has been occasioned by the global shortage of cocoa owing to a significant decline in cocoa output in Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire, who contribute approximately 70 percent of the total volume of cocoa produced globally.
The NDC is deeply concerned about the sharp decline in Ghana’s cocoa production volumes under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government. This situation is set to get even worse, as Ghana’s cocoa production for the 2023/2024 crop season is reported to be about 450,000mt; the lowest in the past two decades.
This sad situation is fast-eroding the incomes and purchasing power of our already-impoverished cocoa farmers. As a matter of fact, the living conditions of Ghanaian cocoa farmers keep worsening by the day due to the sharp decline in cocoa output.
Clearly, this negative trend will persist if the farm-gate price of cocoa is not significantly increased, to compensate for the loss in income of farmers.
It is instructive to note, that the average international market price of cocoa currently stands at Ten Thousand United States Dollars ($10,000) per ton (16 bags) of cocoa. This is equivalent to GHS130,000 per ton, at a conservative exchange rate of $1 to GHS13. This means that a bag of cocoa is currently being sold on the world market at about GHS8,125, while the Ghanaian farmer is being paid a paltry GHS1,308 by the insensitive and corrupt Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government.
This is a clear rip-off of our hard-working cocoa farmers by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government who continue to mismanage the cocoa sector.
The NDC caucus in Parliament therefore demands that the government immediately increases the farm-gate price of cocoa to reflect the recent unprecedented hike in the world market prices of cocoa.
We are appalled by the continuous mismanagement of the cocoa sector and the shortchanging of our hard working Ghanaian cocoa farmers by the ruling NPP government.
Last year, Ghana lost about 150,000mt of cocoa valued at almost $400,000,000 to smuggling. This was occasioned by the fact that, our hardworking cocoa farmers were not offered competitive prices by the insensitive Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government.
The reoccurrence of this situation this year, will have dire consequences for the cocoa industry which is on the verge of collapse due to gross mismanagement and corruption.
It is sad to note, that while our hard working cocoa farmers continue to be shortchanged, COCOBOD’s administrative expenses which stood at less than GHS500 million in 2016, increased to GHS1.7 billion in 2020, and ballooned further to GHS2.5 billion in 2021.
Only this week, we sighted an official document in which the Management of COCOBOD has granted approval for the purchase of fifteen (15) ipad keyboards for its Board of Directors at a staggering cost of GHS4,500.00 per unit.
This is the clearest evidence yet, that the management of COCOBOD have prioritized waste and the comfort of their offices at the expense of hard working cocoa farmers. Also, it is symptomatic of the recklessness and mismanagement that have plagued COCOBOD for the past seven years which accounts for the cumulative losses of GHS13.62 billion, recorded by COCOBOD since 2017.
It is the considered view of the Minority Caucus, that urgent steps be taken to save our dying cocoa sector now. It is therefore imperative, that government significantly increases the farm-gate price of cocoa, in consonance with the current world market price of cocoa.
This we believe will incentivise our farmers and discourage the smuggling of cocoa beans amid all the challenges bedevilling the industry.
***END***
SIGNED.
ERIC OPOKU (MP)
(Ranking Member on the Parliamentary Select Committee on Food, Agric & Cocoa Affairs and Member of Parliament for Asunafo South).
Government has announced a new farm gate cocoa bean price as it predated the 2023/2024 crop season.
The new price is pegged at GHC1,308 per bag, a significant jump from previous season price of GHC800. This translate to 63.5 percentage increment.
The price per tonne also increases from GH¢12,800.00 to GH¢ 20,943.00.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced this at Tepa on Saturday, September 9, 2023.
He said the new price was the highest in the sub region in the last 15 years and was meant to improve the livelihoods of the farmers and for a fair and remunerative price for their efforts.
Although, the increase in price is very significant, it still fall short of the demands by the farmers who expected GHC1,380 as the new price as captured in a press statement of Ghana Civil Society Cocoa Platform (GCCP) last week.
Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) announced the opening of the upcoming cocoa season for 2023/2024 starting last week Friday, September 8, 2023.
The predated announcement was aimed at safeguarding the interests of cocoa farmers against recent disruptions in the internal marketing of cocoa beans, a statement issued by the Chief Executive of COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo said.
The initial expected date of starting the season was October 1st, 2023.
Inadvertently, cocoa farmers called for a 72.5% upward adjustment of the farm gate price of cocoa beans from current price of GH¢800 to GH¢1,380 per bag for this crop season.
“Based on the working assumption of the Producer Price Review Committee (PPRC), which aims at ensuring that farm gate price is pegged at a minimum of 70% of the net Free on Board (FoB) price of cocoa beans, GCCP is of the firm opinion that farmers in Ghana should be receiving a minimum of ¢22,080 per tonne, which is equivalent to ¢1,380 per bag (62.5kg) of cocoa beans”, Leticia Yankey of the Ghana Civil Society Cocoa Platform (GCCP) said while addressing the media ahead of COCOBOD announcement.
“This figure was arrived at using the lowest projected values available including an LID of $400 per tonne as agreed.”
Also, Co-Coordinator of the Ghana Civil Society Cocoa Platform, Obed Owusu-Addai, said the Living Income Differential (LID) of $400 is a façade as the amount has dropped to $25.
“Before 2020, Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire, we were enjoying the origin differential/country premium and even after the season had ended, COCOBOD gave bonuses. But in 2019/20 cocoa season when Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire instituted the Living Income Differential of $400 per tonne of cocoa, the market reacted”.
“For 2020/2021 cocoa season, the country premium went into negative to the extent that till date, the premium has reduced to $25,” he bemoaned.
The Ghana Civil-Society Cocoa Platform is an independent campaign and advocacy platform for civil society actors in the cocoa sector.
