Increase cocoa producer price - Minority urges government

The Minority Caucus has urged the government to immediately increase the cocoa producer price from GH¢3,000 to GH¢6,000 per 64kg bag. 

They warned that a failure to act swiftly would not only mean negating of their campaign promises but also risk an economic sabotage at the borders because of smuggling and a betrayal of hardworking cocoa farmers.

Addressing a news conference held in Kumasi over the government’s inaction over cocoa producer prices, the minority, led by the Ranking Member on the Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs, Isaac Yaw Opoku, who is also the New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Offinso South, urged the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and the current administration to stop “shifting blame.”

Instead, they advised the government to deliver on the promises it made to cocoa farmers during the 2024 election campaign.

They recalled that the immediate past government set the cocoa producer price at GH¢48,000 per tonne for the 2024/2025 crop season, representing a significant increase from previous years.

This translated into GH¢3,000 per 64kg bag. 

However, during the 2024 election campaign, the then flag bearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, promised to increase the price of cocoa per 64kg bag to GH¢6,000 to reflect the prevailing world market prices.

The minority accused the NDC of backtracking on its promise, since winning the elections and instead issuing contradictory statements in an attempt to skip being held accountable. 

Contradictions

They said on April 8, 2025, COCOBOD cited “operational challenges” and other factors as reasons the producer price could not be adjusted.

However, according to the minority, a day after, another release provided different justifications, signalling an inconsistency in their statements.

The Minority Caucus therefore slammed the COCOBOD for issuing those contradictory statements within a 24-hour period and described their action as “shocking and highly disappointing”.

The group questioned whether the government was going back on its  key manifesto pledges, including the assurance to pay farmers 70 per cent of the Free-On-Board (FOB) price and a campaign promise to raise cocoa prices to GH¢6,000 per 64kg bag.

“They promised farmers GH¢6,000 per bag. Now they claim they can’t increase the price. Were those just empty words for votes?” the Minority queried.

According to the minority, the COCOBOD had a strong financial standing, arguing that the institution had both the economic size and capacity to absorb any financial strain resulting from a price hike.

They said with over 560,000 tonnes of cocoa already purchased and over $2 billion in receipts reported through the Bank of Ghana (BoG), farmers deserved a fair share of the cocoa export value.

Smuggling

The group also raised concerns about a deepening regional threat.

They said Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana’s neighbouring cocoa producing country, recently raised its farmgate cocoa price by over 22 per cent, creating a price disparity that could trigger mass smuggling of Ghanaian cocoa across the border.

“At current exchange rates, Ivorian farmers earn over GH¢3,600 per bag—more than GH¢600 higher than their Ghanaian counterparts,” they said.

The caucus, therefore, warned that failure to match regional prices could lead to a surge in cocoa smuggle and illegal mining, as farmers abandon unprofitable cocoa farms for more lucrative ventures.

“The government must act now to protect our farmers and secure Ghana’s cocoa economy.

This is not just about economics, it’s about national security,” the Minority declared.

They concluded their remarks by calling on the government to honour its pledge to cocoa farmers ,saying; “No more excuses. COCOBOD and the government must keep their promise and pay the Ghanaian cocoa farmer a minimum of GH¢6,000 per bag.”