Cocoa farmers threaten to bar COCOBOD officials over low producer price
A coalition of cocoa farmers in Ghana has vowed to bar officials of the national regulator, Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), from their farms in protest against the newly announced producer price for the 2025/2026 season.
The farmers argue that the modest increase fails to match their rising costs and risks fuelling widespread smuggling to neighbouring Ivory Coast and Togo.
On 4 August, government fixed the farmgate price at GHS51,660 ($4,783) per ton, equivalent to GHS3,228 per 64kg bag. This represents a 4 percent increase from last season.
While government touted the move as a measure to protect farmers, many believe it falls far below expectations.
Vice President of the Ghana Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Association, Theophilus Tamakloe, accused government of reneging on its promise to pay at least 70 percent of the international free-on-board (FOB) price.
“By our calculations, the new rate should have been closer to GHS3,800 per bag, so anything less is unfair to farmers,” he said.
Kwame Alex, Ghana’s Best Cocoa Farmer at the recent national awards, also warned of smuggling risks.
“There is a price differential of around GHS700 between Ghana and Ivory Coast that creates incentives for smuggling,” he explained.
Smuggling is not a new phenomenon. COCOBOD estimates that Ghana lost about 160,000 tons of cocoa to illegal cross-border trade during the 2023/24 season.
With cocoa serving as the backbone of the Ghanaian economy, such losses could worsen foreign exchange shortfalls and strain government revenues.
For many farmers, the frustrations go beyond price. Rising input costs, such as insecticides now selling for GHS150 each and equipment rentals at GHD100 per day, have eroded profits.
“If I’m close to the Ivorian border, probably all my cocoa beans will go there because the government has not been fair to us,” Mr Tamakloe added.
