The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has criticised the government’s decision to set the producer price of cocoa for the 2026/27 season at GH¢2,650 per 64-kilogramme bag.
The party says the new price is too low and claims it does not meet the minimum price required by law.
In a press statement dated September 27, the NPP said the new price is only GH¢63 higher than the GH¢2,587 per bag paid at the end of the 2025/26 cocoa season. This represents an increase of just 2.4 percent.
The party is calling on the government to review the price. It referred to the Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 2026 (Act 1182), which it says requires cocoa farmers to receive at least 70 percent of the Gross Free-on-Board (FOB) price earned by COCOBOD during a crop season.
The government has said the new producer price of GH¢2,650 represents 71.18 percent of the Gross FOB price.
However, the NPP disagrees with this calculation. The party says the figures used to arrive at the new price should be made clearer and more transparent.
The controversy comes after the government announced the new cocoa producer price on Friday, September 25, 2026.
The NPP also accused the government of failing to keep promises made to cocoa farmers during the 2024 election campaign.
According to the party, senior members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who were then in opposition, visited several cocoa-growing communities during the campaign and promised farmers a producer price of GH¢6,000 per bag.
Those mentioned by the NPP include current Minister for Food and Agriculture Eric Opoku, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh and President John Dramani Mahama.
The NPP said the politicians also told farmers that the GH¢3,100 per bag being paid at the time was exploitative and that cocoa farmers deserved at least 70 percent of the world market price.
The party argues that the government’s decisions on cocoa pricing since taking office have fallen well below that campaign promise.
