Increase Cocoa Prices To ₵6000 Like You Promised Or Else… – Minority Jabs Govt
The Minority Caucus has appealed to government to increase the cocoa producer price from GHS3,000 to GHS 6,000 per 64kg bag in fulfillment of their promise to Ghanaians.
They cautioned that government’s failure to act swiftly on their demand risks economic sabotage and encourages smuggling.
To them, government will be betraying the hardworking cocoa farmers in Ghana if they fail to fulfil their promise of increasing the producer price of cocoa to ₵6,000.
Addressing the issue at a press conference at Miklin Hotel in Kumasi, the Minority Caucus led by their Ranking Member on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs, Isaac Yaw Opoku urged the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and the current administration to stop “shifting blame” on the previous administration.
The erstwhile Akufo-Addo government set the cocoa producer price at GHS48,000 per tonne for the 2024/2025 crop season, translating into ₵3,000 per 64kg bag.
However, President John Dramani Mahama, during the election campaign season last year, promised to increase the cocoa price per 64kg bag to ₵6,000 to reflect the prevailing world market prices but after coming into power, the Mahama administration has backtracked.
On Tuesday, April 8, 2025, COCOBOD cited “operational challenges” and other factors as reasons why the producer price couldn’t be adjusted.
A day after, April 9, 2025, the government released another statement providing justifications for their decision.
The Minority Caucus, worried about this trend, has slammed the COCOBOD and described their action as “shocking and highly disappointing”.
The group questioned the government’s U-turn saying “they promised farmers GHS 6,000 per bag. Now they claim they can’t increase the price. Were those just empty words for votes?”
Pointing to COCOBOD’s strong financial standing, the Minority argued that the agency has both the economic size and capacity to absorb any financial strain resulting from a price hike.
With over 560,000 tonnes of cocoa already purchased and over US$2 billion in receipts reported through the Bank of Ghana, the caucus argued that cocoa farmers deserve a fair share of their export value.
They also raised red flags over a deepening regional threat.
Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana’s neighbouring cocoa producing country, recently raised its farmgate cocoa price by over 22%, creating a price disparity that the Minority fears could trigger mass smuggling of Ghanaian cocoa.
At current exchange rates, Ivorian farmers earn over GHC 3,600 per bag which is higher than their Ghanaian counterparts.
The Minority therefore admonished the government to “act now to protect our farmers and secure Ghana’s cocoa economy. This is not just about economics; it’s about national security”.
“No more excuses. COCOBOD and the government must keep their promise and pay the Ghanaian cocoa farmer a minimum of GHS 6,000 per bag.”
Source: Ghmessenger.com
