Former Deputy Finance Minister and a son of a cocoa farmer, Dr Alex Ampaabeng, has questioned whether the latest increase in Ghana’s cocoa producer price meets the expectations previously created for cocoa farmers.
His comments follow the announcement by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) of a new producer price of GH¢42,400 per tonne for the 2026/27 cocoa season, up from GH¢41,392 per tonne in the previous season.
The new price, which took effect on September 25, 2026, translates into GH¢2,650 per 64-kilogramme bag and represents 71.18% of the realised gross Free-On-Board (FOB) value of cocoa.
In a commentary on the development, Dr Ampaabeng argued that the GH¢1,008 increase, representing about 2.4%, should be assessed against the expectations created during the political debate over cocoa pricing.
He said cocoa farmers had previously been told that a change in government would bring significantly better prices and improve their livelihoods.
According to him, the latest announcement provides an opportunity to compare those expectations with the current reality facing cocoa farmers.
Dr Ampaabeng noted that the 2025/26 cocoa season initially opened with a producer price of GH¢51,660 per tonne before the price was reduced to GH¢41,392 in February 2026 amid falling international cocoa prices and financial pressures within the cocoa sector.
The new GH¢42,400 price therefore remains below the GH¢51,660 level that applied at the beginning of the previous season.
Dr Ampaabeng said the development also demonstrated the complexity of cocoa pricing, arguing that factors such as international cocoa prices, exchange-rate movements, forward sales and COCOBOD’s financial position could not easily be reduced to political slogans.
He referenced a statement associated with former Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, saying: “When cocoa pricing is reduced to political slogans, the international market will expose you.”
He further observed that the conversation surrounding cocoa pricing had shifted from political promises to explanations involving global market conditions and the financial realities of the cocoa sector.
“In short, the conversation has shifted from promises to explanations,” he said.
However, Dr Ampaabeng acknowledged that the government could point to a measurable achievement in the new pricing framework: the producer price represents more than the 70% minimum share of realised gross FOB value guaranteed to cocoa farmers under the newly enacted Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 2026 (Act 1182).
He stressed, however, that farmers ultimately experience the impact of cocoa pricing through their incomes and production costs.
“They experience it through what remains after paying for labour,” he said, while also pointing to the cost of agrochemicals, swollen shoot disease, ageing cocoa farms and declining yields as challenges affecting farmers.
Dr Ampaabeng said the central question for farmers should therefore be whether their economic position has improved.
Am I better off than I was before?” he asked.
The government has meanwhile said the new pricing framework is part of broader reforms intended to strengthen the financial sustainability of the cocoa sector. COCOBOD has also highlighted productivity programmes, including free fertiliser, hybrid cocoa seedlings and cocoa disease and pest control interventions, as measures intended to improve farm productivity and farmer incomes.
Dr Ampaabeng concluded that the latest development offered a broader lesson about the difficulty of managing sectors exposed to international markets.
It is easy in opposition to present complex global market issues as simple political choices. Governing often reveals otherwise,” he said.
He added that the key challenge for government was to demonstrate to cocoa farmers that the improved future they were promised was being reflected in their livelihoods.
Let’s do politics with honesty, he said.
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