Ghana implements 58.26% increase in cocoa producer price amid industry challenges.

GHANA—The government of Ghana, under the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), has announced new cocoa producers’ prices for farmers.

This board, which is responsible for setting cocoa buying prices in the country, announced that the new price for the 2023-2024 crop year rises to 33,120 Ghana cedis (US$ 2,499) per ton, up from 20,926 cedis (US$ 1,578) per ton set last September.

According to the statement, which was signed by COCOBOD’s CEO Joseph Boahen Aidoo, claimed that the price increase aims to improve the welfare of farmers in response to the escalating cocoa prices on the global market.

“The welfare of cocoa farmers is dear to the heart of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana. It is for this reason that since the NPP government assumed office in 2017, the producer price of cocoa has been increased by 336% from GH¢7,600 per tonne in the 2016/17 cocoa season to an unprecedented level of GH¢33,120 per tonne for the rest of the 2023/24 cocoa season,” the statemen read.

This is a boost to Ghana, the world’s second-largest cocoa producer after neighboring Cote d’Ivoire – The country hosts approximately 800,000 farm families across its cocoa-producing regions.

However, these families have been affected by the price surges due to challenges, particularly from the cocoa swollen shoot virus disease (CSSD) and cocoa black pod disease.

In fact, Joseph Aidoo had revealed in January that CSSVD has decimated over 500,000 hectares of cocoa farms in Ghana alone.

Furthermore, illegal mining activities and climate change exacerbate the challenges facing the cocoa industry, further contributing to the decline in cocoa production.

Cocoa is the backbone of Ghana’s economy – in 2022, the sector was expected to contribute more than 3.4 billion GHS (454 million U.S. dollars) to Ghana’s GDP, with a projected annual growth rate of 12.1 percent at the national level.

Liked this article? Subscribe to Food Business Africa News, our regular email newsletters with the latest news insights from Africa and the World’s food and agro industry. HERE