Accra, Oct. 5, GNA- Government has increased the Producer Price of Cocoa by 21 per cent for the 2022/2023 crop season.
This translates into GH₵12,800 per metric tonne up from GH₵10,560. The new price takes effect from Friday October 7, 2022.
Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the Minister of Food and Agriculture announced the price at a press conference in Accra.
The producer price represents 89.99 per cent of the net FOB value. This figure translates into GH¢800 per bag of 64 kg. gross weight.
He said the 21 per cent rise in the producer price of cocoa was a testament to the Government’s resolve to ensure farmers earn a decent income and make cocoa farming lucrative.
The Minister said the Government would continue to implement initiatives to build a robust, resilient, and sustainable cocoa industry where cocoa farmers and their communities would thrive.
He said to ensure a decent standard of living for Ghanaian cocoa farmers after retirement, the Government would from November 2022 move from the pilot phase to the implementation phase of the Cocoa Farmers pension scheme.
Dr Akoto said the Committee had also approved the rates and fees for all other stakeholders in the supply chain.
These include the Buyers margin, Hauliers’ rate, warehousing, and internal marketing costs, as well as fees for disinfestation, grading and sealing and scale inspection.
He said the Government would continue to support cocoa farmers through the pests and diseases control programme (Mass Spraying) and rehabilitation of diseased cocoa farms.
“The Government will also assist cocoa farmers by making the requisite inputs such as fertilizers available for farmers to buy to increase farm productivity,” he added.
The Minister said the Government was committed to continuing to supply certified planting materials that are drought tolerant, early bearing and high yielding.
He said the European Union would soon legislate Regulations on due diligence on Deforestation and Forest Degradation and this placed enormous responsibility on the country to ensure that cocoa was sustainably produced in Ghana.
“Issues of deforestation and forest degradation remain important in meeting the EU due diligence requirements,” he said.
He said the Government had not relented in ensuring that cocoa produced in Ghana was free from deforestation and child labour.
Dr Akoto said the Government through COCOBOD was developing the Cocoa Management System (CMS) to enable Ghana to meet the EU due diligence requirements.
Once completed, the CMS will establish a national mandatory traceability system which will be transparent and accountable.
This will ensure that all Ghana cocoa beans are traceable from the port of shipment to the plot of land that produced the beans.
He said this was a key requirement under the European Union Due Diligence requirements.
The Minister said the first component of the CMS, which involved the establishment of a reliable farmer database (farm mapping and enumeration), was expected to be completed by the end of October 2022.
He assured stakeholders that COCOBOD had made available funds, jute sacks and related logistics for the smooth take-off of the 2022/23 Main Crop Season.
