Increase in cocoa prices is a rip-off of hardworking farmers

Increase in cocoa prices is a rip-off of hardworking farmers — Mahama

The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, John Mahama, has said the government's just-announced increase in the farm-gate price of cocoa is a rip-off of the hardworking cocoa farmers and their families who continue to sustain their economy through their toil.

Mahama in a Facebook post argued that given the international market price of cocoa reaching a 46-year record high of $3,600, the government should have provided cocoa farmers with a more equitable share of the international FOB price.

He expressed disappointment that the government has chosen to offer farmers a mere GH¢1,308 per bag, which constitutes only 52.7% of the FOB price on the international market.

Over the weekend, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced an increase in the farmgate price for cocoa beans.

Addressing farmers at the opening of the 2023/2024 cocoa season in Tepa, Ashanti region, Nana Addo said the price per bag has been raised from the previous GH¢800 to GH¢1,308.

This represents about a 63% jump and the highest price increment for cocoa in nearly two decades, according to unconfirmed reports.

The new rate is expected to take effect immediately for the upcoming crop year.

Nana Addo urged Ghanaians to increase consumption of local cocoa products like chocolate to help boost domestic production as well as promote health benefits.

Mahama adding his voice to the cocoa price increase expressed disappointment.

He stated that it is unfair to the cocoa farmers who have been worse off since the NPP took over the reins of government in 2017.

In 2016, he said the NDC government in addition to the free fertiliser and free cocoa seedlings programme, gave cocoa farmers 66.06% of the FOB Price of cocoa.

Mahama indicated that the NPP administration should have built on this foundation and rather increased the operational expenses of COCOBOD and reduced the international FOB share for the farmers.

There are over 800,000 cocoa farmers in Ghana, the second largest producer in the world after Cote d'Ivoire, to whom the President also announced a pension scheme.

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