Cocoa production to hit 930,000 metric tons

Ghana could achieve about 930,000 metric tons of cocoa beans, closed to the record outturn achieved in 2010/2011crop season

According to some economic research, 50,000 metric tons of cocoa beans could be realised at the end of September 2014.

Purchasing for the smaller light crop (July-September) officially started on July 4 while main crop purchases reached 879,000 metric tons in June 2014.

Meanwhile, high inflation which is eating away farmers' incomes fuelled a surge in smuggling of Ghanaian cocoa beans to Côte d'Ivoire.

 Although Cocobod, the regulator of the cocoa industry, may have benefitted from the currency depreciation owing to its dollar borrowing, its finances are constrained by a large overhang of unpaid receivables.

Ghana is the world's second largest cocoa producer, with estimated output of 930,000 metric tonnes of cocoa beans in the 2013/2014.

High inflation, currency depreciation and the likely return of the El Niño weather phenomenon could cloud the outlook for the 2014/15 crop, which Cocobod hopes to increase substantially.  

Cocoa output peaked at 1,025,000 metric tons in the 2011/2012 crop season buoyed by the smuggling of cocoa beans into Ghana during the Ivorian civil war.

It however returned to more characteristics level falling to 878,500 metric tons in 2012/2013.