On April 5, 2024, the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) announced a new price price for cocoa by an increase of 58.26%.

This has catapulted per metric ton of cocoa from GH¢20, 928.00 per metric ton to GH¢33, 120.00. Therefore, the selling price of cocoa at the farm gate will be GH¢2,070.00.

Meaning farmers would be getting GH¢761.01 more over last year’s producer price index.

In the press release of the Board, signed by the Chief Executive Joseph Boahen Aidoo, the increment was as a result of two factors, one being internal and other external.

On internal factors, the Board undercoated the price increase with politics, praising the Akufo-Addo government for being thoughtful of cocoa farmers.

According to the release, the welfare of cocoa farmers had been on the heart of President Akufo-Addo, hence the increase.

It is also in the same vein that ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) had since 2017, increased the producer price from GH¢7,600.00 to GH¢33,120.00 per metric ton. To wit, a 336% point jump over a 7 year period.

To the COCOBOD, this is unprecedented in the life of any political party to purchase cocoa at GH¢33,129.90 per metric ton.

It further stated that, the Board will increase the buyer’s margin GH¢2,980.OO per metric ton to enable the Licenced Buying Companies (LBCs) coup financially with the new producer price of cocoa.

The release also linked the increase in the producer price of cocoa to external factors, particularly the price of the commodity on the international market.

Cocoa price on the international market has shot up to a historic height of US$3,624 (GH¢48489.12) per metric ton.

The release perfectly acknowledged this fact, raising the question of whether it was necessary to link the price hike to politics as well as the comparison.

According to critics, a bag of cocoa beans should rather be selling rather at GH¢3,030.00 per the matrix of the international market.

In 2017, the price of cocoa at the international market was US$1,989 (GH¢8,731.71) per metric ton. Therefore, if cocoa was sold locally at GH¢7,600.00 per metric ton for 2016/2017 crop year, then an amount of GH¢1,131.71 was retained.

Comparably, the Board to that extent the government is retaining GH¢15, 359.22, perhaps for administrative purposes.

The NPP government maintained the producer price of cocoa at GH¢475.00 for two years in a row before taking it to GH¢515 for the 2019/2020 cocoa season.

Subsequently, the price moved slowly to GH¢660.00, in 2020,