2024/25 cocoa farm-gate price must not be anything less than GHS6,000 per bag — Minority

The Minority in Parliament has demanded that the cocoa farm-gate price for the 2024/2025 season must not be set at anything less than GHS6,000 per bag of 64kg cocoa beans.

Speaking on the floor at an emergency Parliament sitting on Tuesday, September 3, Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson said the current price of cocoa on the world market means COCOBOD will be selling a bag at around GHS9,700.

According to him, "The cocoa farmer cannot be paid anything less than GHS6,000 per bag. The payment of GHS6,000 per bag of cocoa is critical because cocoa farmers deserve the benefit of their hard labour."

The Minority Leader's comments come after the Ghana Civil-Society Cocoa Platform called on COCOBOD to set the farm-gate price per bag at an amount that would help improve the livelihoods of farmers.

The advocacy group is calling for an amount not less than GHS3,583 per bag for the upcoming season, translating to over $3,600 per tonne using current exchange rates.

GCCP based its calculations on global cocoa prices averaging over $6,100 per tonne in the 2023/24 season and on the fact that farmers should receive at least 60% of the FOB price.

With inflation continuing to bite into incomes and the high cost of farm inputs, experts say cocoa farmers will continue to struggle if the new price is not reviewed significantly.

Meanwhile, COCOBOD is yet to announce the price, which takes effect later this month with sources saying it will be around GHS3,000, an increase just shy of 45%.

The current price per bag of cocoa beans was increased from around GHS1,300 to GHS2,070 in a mid-term price upward review in April for the rest of the 2023/24 season.