Cocoa farmers across Ghana are expressing frustration in response to the recent announcement of new farmgate prices for cocoa beans.
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) announced a 58.26 percent increase, setting the price at GH¢33,120 cedis per ton for the 2023/2024 crop season.
This decision, according to COCOBOD, aims to distribute the benefits of soaring global cocoa prices and discourage the smuggling of cocoa beans.
However, the Ghana National Cocoa Farmers Association has voiced strong opposition to the increase, stating it is inadequate.
President of the association, Stephenson Anane Boateng asserts that cocoa farmers are being unfairly treated.
“Cocoa has been raised globally to $10,000 per metric ton. So if you compare, and you convert to our currency, it is running into over GH¢9,000. We totally disagree with them. We pay our labour, we buy inputs for the farm, and then we also pay ourselves.
“So in a nutshell, we get only GH¢600 for that while COCOBOD also gets GH¢7,000. So what work did COCOBOD do and give us that money? It’s an insult!”