The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has assured cocoa farmers that a new, higher producer price will be announced in August, and it is expected to surpass that of neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire.
This assurance comes at a time when global cocoa prices are surging, raising strong expectations for better farmgate prices.
COCOBOD says it is committed to ensuring that Ghanaian cocoa farmers receive fair and improved earnings.
Despite operational and financial challenges inherited by the current management, COCOBOD remains confident in delivering a competitive price adjustment that reflects market trends and rewards farmers adequately.
Currently, Ghana’s cocoa producer price stands at GH₵3,100 per 64kg bag.
In April, Côte d’Ivoire increased its mid-crop farmgate price to 2,200 CFA francs (approximately $3.62) per kilogram in response to tightening global supply.
Speaking in an interview, COCOBOD’s Head of Public Affairs, Jerome Sam, affirmed that Ghanaian farmers should expect a favourable review.
“We’re working to ensure the new price does justice to the hard work of our farmers,” he said.
The upcoming price announcement is seen as a key step in maintaining farmer confidence and sustaining Ghana’s position as a leading cocoa producer.
“By the time we are done with servicing 333,767 metric tonnes [of cocoa], COCOBOD and the Ghanaian farmer will lose a whooping amount of about $1.4 billion as a result of the inefficiency and inability on the part of the previous administration of COCOBOD to deliver those contract. As at that time, we didn’t know. But notwithstanding, the CEO said that is not a justification to tell the Ghanaian farmer that because of “A,B,C,D” we are not going to announce a new price. No, because if you want productivity to spur or shoot up then you need to find a way to motivate the farmer,” he said.
“If we are to stick to the price of Côte d’Ivoire being the benchmark…which ever price Côte d’Ivoire gives, we are going to give more than that. The board is yet to be inaugurated. When the Board comes, some of these issues will be tabled before the Board but at least we have some sense or clue as to where to peg the price and we are not going to do less than what Côte d’Ivoire is doing,” he added.
the best poets of his era and