- The recent announcement by President Akufo-Addo of a GH1,308 producer price per bag of cocoa has angered former president John Mahama.
- The National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) flagbearer, Mr. Mahama, called it a rip-off of the diligent cocoa growers.
- On September 9, President Akufo-Addo highlighted the difficulties experienced by cocoa producers owing to low worldwide cocoa prices, which have been made worse by the COVID-19 outbreak, in a speech at a gathering in Tepa.
- Despite these challenges, he noted that the government and COCOBOD have chosen to increase the cocoa producer price.
- The President outlined the significant 68% increase in cocoa prices from GH7,600 per tonne in 2016 to GH12,800 per tonne in 2022.
- He said that the price of cocoa had been increased by the government from GH12,800 per tonne to GH20,943 per tonne, or GH1,308 per bag. This new price, which equals $1,821 per tonne, is equivalent to 70.5% of the Gross FoB price.
- This is the highest price paid to cocoa producers in West Africa in over 50 years, President Akufo-Addo said.
- However, John Mahama claimed in a Facebook post on September 11 that the government should have given cocoa farmers a more equal share of the international FOB price given that the price of cocoa reached a 46-year high of $3,600.
- He expressed displeasure that the government had decided to pay farmers just GH 1,308 per bag, or about 52.7% of the FOB Price on the market outside.
- Sadly, the government decided to only pay them GH1,308 per bag, or just 52.7% of the FOB Price of the product on the market outside.
- According to Mahama, this is unjust to cocoa growers who have been dealing with more difficulties ever since the NPP took power in 2017.
- Mahama noted that in addition to the free fertilizer and free cocoa seedling programs, his administration gave cocoa farmers 66.06% of the FOB Price of cocoa in 2016 while he was in office.
- Rather of building on this base, he claimed, the NPP government “have rather increased the operational expenses of COCOBOD and reduced the international FOB share for the farmers.”
- In his opinion, cocoa producers should receive better care.
