The government has increased the producer price of cocoa from GH¢41,392 to GH¢42,400 per tonne for the 2026/2027 crop season, giving farmers a GH¢1,008 increase over the previous season.
The new price 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), Ransford Abbey, announced the new producer price in Accra on Friday (Sept 25) as he declared the 2026/2027 cocoa season open.
He said the new price had been agreed following consultations among COCOBOD, the Ministry of Finance, cocoa farmers and stakeholders represented by the Chamber of Cocoa Marketers, including licensed buying companies, hauliers and processors.
The announcement comes under the newly enacted Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 2026, which guarantees cocoa farmers a minimum of 70 per cent of the realised gross FOB price.
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.
The CEO said the Act 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.
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.
Farmer support
Beyond the producer price, he 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 fertiliser 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 has remained a concern for the industry.
He also 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 also said COCOBOD had fully deployed the Ghana Cocoa Traceability System across all cocoa-growing areas.
He said the system would enable Ghana to meet the requirements of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which is expected to take effect from December 30, 2026.
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.
He 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.