Ghana announces over 58% hike in cocoa producer price
Ghana’s cocoa industry regulator has announced a 58.2 percent hike in the producer price of cocoa for farmers with immediate effect.
In a press release, the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), a government-controlled institution that fixes the buying price for cocoa in Ghana, said the new price for the 2023-2024 crop year increases to 33,120 Ghana cedis (2,499 U.S. dollars) per ton from 20,926 cedis (1,578 U.S. dollars) per ton last September.
“The increase in the producer price has become necessary to enhance the welfare of farmers in response to the rising prices of cocoa on the international market,” COCOBOD said.
Ghana is the world’s second-largest cocoa producer after neighboring Cote d’Ivoire, with an estimated 800,000 farm families spreading across the producing regions of the country.
However, the cocoa swollen shoot virus disease (CSSVD) and cocoa black pod disease, have been threatening production in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire in recent years, leading to shortfalls in the international market.
CSSVD is a plant pathogenic virus of the family Caulimoviridae that primarily infects cacao trees. It decreases cacao yield within the first year of infection, and usually kills the tree within a few years.
COCOBOD Chief Executive Officer Joseph Boahen Aidoo disclosed in February that CSSVD has wiped out over 500,000 hectares of cocoa farms in Ghana.
In addition to the diseases, Aidoo said that illegal mining and climate change also impacted the cocoa industry negatively, worsening the decline in cocoa production and threatening the livelihoods of farmers.
Xinhua
