The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board, COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, says government will require a difference of about two billion Ghana Cedis before cocoa beans could be purchased at the current rate next season as a result of the prevailing price volatility on the world market.
This is due to the decline of about one thousand Dollars in the global market price of cocoa between December of 2016 and now.
However, the Cocoa Stabilization Fund created by government to guarantee fair prices for local cocoa farmers has accumulated just 320 million Ghana Cedis, a figure which is far less than required by COCOBOD to increase prices for the new season.
Mr. Boahen Aidoo made this known in Kumasi at a dialogue with chief cocoa and sheanut farmers.
The dialogue, which was patronized by district, regional and national chief and queen cocoa and Sheanut farmers from across the country, was an initiative of the COCOBOD’s CEO to engage the farmers and lay bare facts about the negative impact of the unstable world market prices of the commodity is having on cocoa production in Ghana.
Mr. Boahen Aidoo noted that since December of last year, the world market price of cocoa has reduced from more than three thousand Dollars per tonne to about one thousand 900 Dollars now. According to him, Ghana was able to produce about 700 thousand metric tonnes of the product during the last season while the price per metric tonne was seven thousand, 600.
The current price, the COCOBOOD’s CEO noted, cannot be increased during the next cocoa season due to the unfavourable price of the commodity on the international market.
Mr. Aidoo expressed optimism that Ghana would be able to produce one million metric tonnes of cocoa next season and that COCOBOD is implementing various strategic initiatives in the sector to boost production.
These include the introduction of hand pollination that could ensure that yield per a hectare of cocoa farm will increase from the current six bags to about 20 bags to guarantee the farmers increased income.
He explained that government’s decision to subsidize the price of a bag of fertilizer instead of giving it out for free to the farmers is to stop the smuggling of the input to other countries by unscrupulous citizens for sale at the expense of the national economy and also the abuse in the distribution chain.
The Western North Regional Chief Cocoa Farmer, Nicholas Cobbinah, commended government for the bold step being taken to stop illegal gold mining which, he noted, has seriously impacted cocoa production.
He also agreed with government to subsidize fertilizer to the farmers as a means of addressing the inherent unfairness in the distribution.
