Ghana raises cocoa producer price for 2026/27 season
COCOBOD has raised the cocoa producer price by GH¢1,008 per tonne as Ghana introduces a new pricing and financing framework for the sector.
GHANA – Ghana has increased the cocoa producer price to GH¢42,400 (US$3647.17) per tonne for the 2026/2027 crop season, up from GH¢41,392 (US$3560.47) in the previous season, as the government implements reforms to strengthen the cocoa sector.
Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) Chief Executive Dr Ransford Abbey announced the new price on September 25, when the new cocoa season was officially opened. The increase of GH¢1,008 represents about 2.4% and translates into GH¢2,650 per 64-kilogramme bag.
Abbey said the revised price followed consultations involving COCOBOD, the Ministry of Finance, cocoa farmers and stakeholders represented by the Chamber of Cocoa Marketing Companies.
“Cocoa Board and all the key stakeholders … have approved that the producer price of cocoa be increased from GH¢41,392 per tonne to GH¢42,400 per tonne for the 2026/27 cocoa season,” Abbey said.
COCOBOD said the new producer price represents 71.18% of the realised gross Free-on-Board (FOB) value of cocoa. The pricing arrangement follows the enactment of the Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 2026, which guarantees farmers a minimum of 70% of the realised gross FOB price.
Abbey said the pricing mechanism is based on realised FOB values from forward and spot sales. “If there is a need for us to convene again and review the price, we will do so,” he said.
The new framework forms part of wider reforms aimed at improving COCOBOD’s financial sustainability and strengthening the cocoa value chain.
Cocoa sector financing
Alongside the producer price adjustment, Ghana is changing how cocoa purchases are financed. COCOBOD has established Cocoa Capital PLC, a wholly owned special-purpose financing vehicle, to support approved cocoa-sector financing and refinancing activities.
Cocoa Capital plans to raise GH¢16.3 billion from domestic investors, comprising GH¢14 billion through commercial paper and GH¢2.3 billion through bonds. Commercial paper may have maturities of up to 270 days, while the bonds can have tenors of up to five years.
The short-term financing programme is expected to be raised in tranches, beginning with GH¢4 billion, followed by another GH¢4 billion and a final GH¢6 billion.
The financing framework is intended to support cocoa purchases while reducing reliance on traditional international syndicated borrowing.
COCOBOD said other rates and fees across the supply chain, including buyers’ margins, hauliers’ rates, warehousing and internal marketing costs, will remain unchanged.
The Board will also continue productivity programmes involving free fertiliser, hybrid seedlings and cocoa disease and pest control.
COCOBOD said the Ghana Cocoa Traceability System has been fully deployed across cocoa-growing areas to support compliance with the European Union Deforestation Regulation, expected to take effect on December 30, 2026.
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