The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has contested the government’s decision to set the cocoa producer price for the 2026/27 season at GH¢2,650 per 64-kilogramme bag, calling the price insufficient and arguing that it fails to meet the statutory minimum threshold set by law.
The party, through a press statement issued on September 27, noted that the revised price represents an increase of only GH¢63, or 2.4 percent, over the diminished producer price of GH¢2,587 per bag that concluded the 2025/26 cocoa season.
The opposition party maintained that the government’s determination warrants reconsideration, particularly considering the provisions outlined in the Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 2026 (Act 1182), which the party asserts mandates that the producer price for any crop season must constitute no less than 70 percent of the Gross Free-on-Board (FOB) price obtained by COCOBOD.
According to the party, the government has asserted that the GH¢2,650 producer price constitutes 71.18 percent of the Gross FOB price.
Nevertheless, the NPP contests this computation and maintains that the data employed to determine the announced price necessitate enhanced transparency.
The party’s assertion follows the government’s announcement of the producer price for the forthcoming cocoa season on Friday, September 25, 2026.
The NPP further objected to the government regarding what it characterized as a breach of commitments extended to cocoa farmers throughout the 2024 election campaign.
In accordance with the party’s perspective, prominent representatives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), while serving in opposition, encompassing current Minister for Food and Agriculture Eric Opoku, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh and President John Dramani Mahama, conducted visits to cocoa-producing regions during the campaign and pledged farmers a producer price of GH¢6,000 per bag.
The NPP indicated that farmers were additionally informed that the GH¢3,100 per bag compensation being provided at that juncture constituted exploitation and that cocoa farmers merited no less than 70 percent of the international market price.
The party contended that the government’s ensuing pricing determinations have substantially failed to meet the commitments articulated during the campaign.
