The Government has announced a significant increase in the producer price of cocoa ahead of the 2025/2026 crop season, which opens on Thursday, August 7, 2025.
According to the Minister for Finance, Mr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the new price has been reviewed upwards from US$3,100 per tonne to US$5,040 per tonne.
He stated that it represents a 62.58% increase in dollar terms and aligns with President John Dramani Mahama’s commitment to pay cocoa farmers 70% of the gross Free-On-Board (FOB) value of cocoa.
Mr. Forson, who chairs the Producer Price Review Committee (PPRC), said the decision followed a committee meeting to review pricing for the upcoming season.
He explained that the $5,040 per tonne figure represents exactly 70% of the gross FOB value of US$7,200 per tonne, an improvement over the previous government’s 63.9% payment to farmers under the 2024/25 season.
He noted that the FOB value was calculated using about 100,000 tonnes of cocoa sold at US$2,600 per tonne in the 2023/2024 crop year, coupled with price forecasts for the 2025/2026 season.
He added that at an average exchange rate of GHS10.25 to the US dollar, the increase also affects the Ghana cedi equivalent of cocoa prices.
Mr Forson indicated that farmers will now receive GHS51,660 per tonne, up from GHS49,600. This translates to GHS3,228.75 per bag of 64-kilogram gross weight.
The new pricing regime takes effect from Thursday, August 7, 2025.
By: Jacob. Aggrey
