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No reduction in cocoa price despite world price slump
The Minister for Agriculture Dr Owusu Afriyie-Akoto said this is to serve as an incentive for farmers to increase their production in the next season.
Over the last year, world cocoa prices have dropped drastically over the last year from about 3,000 dollars per metric ton to 1,800 dollars on the London Stock Exchange.
However, Dr Afriyie-Akoto said the government is working tirelessly to make up for the shortfall after contracting a 200 million dollars loan at 21 percent to cover the cost.
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“At the moment, the price Ghana is paying to its farmers has just blown the price that we are getting on the exchange. So it gives us a very little room to manoeuvre. A year ago, the world price of cocoa was around 3,000 dollars per metric ton on the London Exchange. As we speak to you now, it is not even up to 1,900 dollars, that is a substantial drop of more than one-third of the price.”
“The price has stood around 3, 000 dollars for nearly three and a half to four years. In spite of all the comments made by the previous governments at the time that prices were lower,” he added.
Dr Afriyie-Akoto was speaking at the swearing in ceremony of the board members of the Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC).
Currently, cocoa farmers in Ghana receive about GHS475 per 64-kilogram bag of cocoa seed.
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Dr Afriyie-Akoto said the John Mahama administration misappropriated proceeds from the sector, resulting in the challenges being faced now as the world prices further take a dip.
He, therefore, called on the new board to improve the revenue of the sector and also work within their core mandate.
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