The government has increased the producer price of cocoa at the farm gate from GH¢41,392 per tonne to GH¢42,400 per tonne for the 2026/2027 crop season.
The new price gives farmers a GH¢1,008 increase over the previous price. It also translates into GH¢2,650 for a 64-kilogramme bag of cocoa and represents 71.18 per cent of the realised gross free-on-board (FOB) price.
The Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD),Randy Abbey, announced the new producer price in Accra last Friday and declared the 2026/2027 cocoa crop season open.
The new price was set under the newly enacted Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 2026 (Act 1182), which guarantees cocoa farmers a minimum of 70 per cent of the realised gross FOB price.
Existing rates and fees for other participants in the cocoa supply chain, including buyers' margins, hauliers’ rates, warehousing and internal marketing costs, as well as charges for grading, sealing and disinfestation, have been maintained.
He said the new price had been agreed following consultations with COCOBOD, the Ministry of Finance, cocoa farmers and stakeholders represented by the Chamber of Cocoa Marketers, including licensed buying companies, haulage companies and processors.
New framework
The new law forms part of reforms aimed at strengthening the financial and institutional sustainability of the cocoa sector while improving returns to farmers.
He said Act 1182 also introduced a new financing framework to support increased domestic value addition and prohibited COCOBOD from engaging in quasi-fiscal activities.
The revised producer price, therefore, comes at a time when the cocoa industry is undergoing changes to its financing and governance arrangements.
Beyond the producer price, Dr Abbey said COCOBOD would continue with productivity enhancement programmes intended to reduce the cost of production and improve yields.
The programmes include the distribution of free fertilisers and hybrid cocoa seedlings, as well as the Cocoa Diseases and Pests Control Programme.
He said the interventions were expected to improve farm productivity and, in turn, increase farmer incomes.
The new price is also expected to support efforts to curb cocoa smuggling, which had remained a concern for the industry.
He called on farmers, traditional authorities, licensed buying companies, security agencies and cocoa-growing communities to support measures to protect cocoa produced in the country.
Traceability
He said COCOBOD had fully deployed the Ghana Cocoa Traceability System across all cocoa-growing areas.
He pointed out that the system would enable the country to meet the requirements of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which is expected to take effect from December 30 this year.
The traceability system is intended to help demonstrate that Ghanaian cocoa supplied to the European Union market is traceable, deforestation-free, free from child labour and legally produced.
The COCOBOD CE said the system would also strengthen transparency and sustainability across the cocoa value chain, covering raw beans as well as processed and semi-processed cocoa products.
Background
At the opening of the 2023/24 cocoa season, the producer price was GH¢20,928 per tonne, equivalent to GH¢1,308 per 64-kilogramme bag.
On April 5, 2024, the government increased the price by 58.26 per cent to GH¢33,120 per tonne, or GH¢2,070 per bag, for the remainder of the season.
The price opened the 2024/25 season in September 2024 at GH¢48,000 per tonne, equivalent to GH¢3,000 per 64kg bag, a 129.36 per cent increase over the GH¢20,928 per tonne opening price of the 2023/24 season.
In November 2024, the 2024/2025 season started at GH¢49,600 per tonne, with the corresponding bag price rising from GH¢3,000 to GH¢3,100.
For the 2025/26 season, the government initially set the producer price at GH¢51,660 per tonne, equivalent to GH¢3,228.75 per 64kg bag, starting from August 7, 2025.
The price was based on a producer share equivalent to 70 per cent of a projected gross free-on-board (FOB) value of $7,200 per tonne.
In October 2025, the government increased it to GH¢58,000 per tonne, or GH¢3,625 per 64kg bag.
The adjustment represented a 12.27 per cent increase over the price announced in August and took effect on October 3, 2025.
In February 2026, however, the government reduced the producer price for the remainder of the 2025/26 season to GH¢41,392 per tonne, equivalent to GH¢2,587 per 64kg bag, following a sharp decline in the international cocoa price, which had fallen from an average of about $7,200 per tonne to around $4,100 per tonne.
Although it was a significant reduction, that price gave farmers 90 per cent of the gross FOB price of $4,200 per tonne.
The GH¢41,392 per tonne price was subsequently maintained for the 2026 light crop season, which commenced in June 2026.
This meant that farmers continued to receive GH¢2,587 per 64kg bag, or GH¢41,392 per tonne, which measures up to 16 bags of 64kg.