The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has guaranteed cocoa farmers that the forthcoming announcement regarding the cocoa producer price in August will exceed the price established by neighboring Côte d’Ivoire.
This commitment arises amidst strong market anticipations for a competitive farmgate price, fueled by the rise in global cocoa prices and Ghana’s dedication to enhancing the earnings of its farmers.
Despite the operational and financial difficulties faced by the new management of COCOBOD, the organization remains optimistic about its capacity to implement a favorable price adjustment.
Presently, the producer price of cocoa in Ghana is set at GH₵3,100 per 64kg bag. Côte d’Ivoire has increased the price it offers farmers for their cocoa beans in light of expectations for a reduced harvest, thereby slightly closing the gap with the global market as of April this year.
It established the farmgate price for the mid-crop, which commenced on April 2, at 2,200 CFA francs ($3.62) per kilogram. Jerome Sam, Head of Public Affairs at COCOBOD, stated in an interview with Citi Business News that cocoa farmers should anticipate an improved cocoa producer price.
He noted, “By the time we complete servicing 333,767 metric tonnes of cocoa, COCOBOD and the Ghanaian farmer will incur a significant loss of approximately $1.4 billion due to the inefficiencies and failures of the previous COCOBOD administration to fulfill those contracts. At that time, we were unaware of this.
However, the CEO emphasized that this should not serve as an excuse to inform the Ghanaian farmer that due to various factors, we will not announce a new price. On the contrary, if we aim to boost productivity, it is essential to find ways to incentivize the farmer.”
Should we adhere to Côte d’Ivoire’s pricing as the standard, we will offer a price that exceeds theirs. The board has not yet been established, but once it is, these matters will be presented for discussion.
Nevertheless, we have a preliminary understanding of how to set our price, ensuring it will not be lower than Côte d’Ivoire’s.
