Kofi Ahovi

  Government has increased the producer price for cocoa beans by 21% to ¢800 for the 2022/2023 cocoa crop season. This is lower compared to Ivory Coast which pegged its price at about ¢858 for the same season. Until the announcement, a bag of cocoa was selling for ¢660 a bag in Ghana. The new pricing regime will take effect from Friday October 7, 2022. Speaking at a press briefing, Minister for Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto said the cedi depreciation against the dollar prevented government from increasing the figure beyond 21%. We are all aware of the depreciation of the cedi this year. This means government will have to take some cut,” he said. “We are pleased to announce that government has increased the producer price of cocoa by 21% from ¢10,560 per tonne to ¢12,800.00 per tonne. The producer price represents 89.99% of the net FOB value. This figure translates into ¢800 per bag of 64 kg. gross weight and takes effect from Friday, 7th October, 2022”, he added. Dr. Akoto s...

  The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has projected a decline in cocoa prices between January and March this year relative to the same period last year. The central bank said cocoa beans exports to the international market from Ghana and West Africa in general would also be lower than what pertained in the same period last year. It attributed the projected fall in cocoa arrivals and prices to fears that the global economy would be weakened by the third wave of the COVID-19. The bank’s projection, which was contained in its January 2022 Monetary Policy Report, raises concerns that the country could be on its way to suffering its first revenue decline from cocoa in three years this year. The third largest foreign exchange earner, revenue from the ‘golden pod’ has been on an upward trajectory since 2019. It ended 2019 at US$2.28 billion but rose to US$2.33 billion in 2020 before peaking at US$ 2.85 billion last year, according to BoG data. The amounts grossed from the crop were as a result of fav...