By Nicholas Osei-Wusu
Government is to announce the producer price for cocoa beans for the 2024/2025 season on Tuesday, September 10, 2024.
The new FOB price has already been determined by the Producer Price Review Committee and submitted its report to the Minister for Food and Agriculture and subsequently to the President for official announcement to cocoa farmers in accordance to established procedure.
The Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, made this known in Kumasi.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board, COCOBOD, Joseph Boahene Aidoo, led Management staff of the COCOBOD to meet with selected cocoa farmers from the various cocoa growing regions in the country in Kumasi.
It was to enable COCOBOD management to mainly discuss with the farmers, who constitute the mainstay of Ghana’s cocoa production, some nagging and emerging issues of concern to stakeholders of the cocoa production value chain.
These include the recent discussions about whether or not foreign investors have shown disinterest in Ghana’s age old cocoa syndicated loan, the proposed new cocoa financing model and the producer for the new season.
Boahene Aidoo on factors that influence the prices of cocoa beans on the world market and the processes as well as the two selling and purchase arrangement namely the Spot and Forward purchase that come with different bargaining and pricing situations.
According to the COCOBOD CEO, for many years now, Ghana has rather opted for the Forward sales of the cocoa beans for which prices are determined among COCOBOD and the buyers long before any prevailing market price.
Mr. Boahene Aidoo refuted allegations that, COCOBOD’s international partners have decided against the annual syndicated loans for the purchases of cocoa beans and assured that, the new financing model will rather guarantee the LBCs and farmers regular funds for their efforts.
On the new producer price for cocoa for the 2024/2025 season, the COCOBOD’s CEO disclosed that, even though the new rate has been already determined in accordance with established procedure, it is President Akufo-Addo who will be announcing it next Tuesday, September 10, 2024 but entreated the farmers to manage their expectations.
The farmers, who had come from various locations across the country with very high expectation of hearing the new producer price, left disappointed.
Some of them who spoke to GBCNews advised government to ensure that any new price matches the prevailing world market price if the country is to attract the youth into the production and also discourage cocoa farmers from trading off their farms to illegal gold miners.
They expressed mixed expectations about the new producer price.
Nana Akosua Bemaa from Kumawu said “the prevailing world market price is about GHC9,700. If they give us anything less than GHC4,000, it would be a major disincentive to we the farmers. If that happens, next year, they would not get a single cocoa beans from some of us.”
On his part, the 2010 National Best Cocoa Farmer and from Tepa, Samuel Awuni said, “for us to attract the youth into cocoa farming and discourage farmers from trading off their farms to illegal gold miners, government should consider increasing the new price to between GHC3, 500 and GHC4,00.”
