Cocoa farmers’ groups divided over government’s decision to increase farmgate price

Cocoa farmers’ groups are divided over the increase in cocoa farm gate prices.

On Wednesday, the government announced that a bag of cocoa would be bought for GH₵3,000.

This represents a 45 percent increase from the last price increase which was GH₵2,070.

The Agric Minister, Bryan Acheampong also explained that COCOBOD has enough funds to purchase from farmers and will work hard to achieve its target.

But the President of the Concerned Cocoa Farmers Association Nana Oboadee Boateng Bonsu says the price announced has brought a lot of confusion among the farmers.

“The farmer groups have been divided. Others are calling for 6,000 cedis, others are calling for 5,000 cedis and 7,000 cedis a bag. Others are also saying that the price that has come is good,” he said.

According to Boateng Bonsu, he is engaging the farmers to have a fixed price.

Meanwhile, prior to this increment, Ghana was charging relatively lower prices than Côte d’Ivoire this season. Currently, Côte d’Ivoire is charging 1,500 CFA per kilogram of cocoa, which is approximately GHS 40 per kilogram.

This translates to about GH₵2,560 for a 64-kilogram bag of cocoa, while Ghana was charging GH₵2,070.

This means Côte d’Ivoire’s price was about GHS 490 more per bag than Ghana’s, encouraging farmers to sell their produce in Côte d’Ivoire. With the new 45% increment, Ghana is now charging GH₵3,000 per bag, which is GHS 440 higher than the current price charged by Côte d’Ivoire.

However, this situation may change as Côte d’Ivoire has yet to announce the farmgate price for the 2024/2025 cocoa season.