COCOA PRICES FOR THE 2026/2027 CROP SEASON
For the 2026/2027 crop season, the government has increased the producer price of cocoa by GH¢1,008 over the prior season, from GH¢41,392 per tonne to GH¢42,400 per tonne.
The new price is now GH¢2,650 for a 64-kilogramme bag of cocoa, or 71.18 per cent of the actual gross free-on-board (FOB) price.
Dr Ransford Abbey, Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), announced the new producer price as he declared the 2026/2027 cocoa season open on 25th September 2026 in Accra.
He mentioned that the Ministry of Finance, COCOBOD, cocoa producers, and stakeholders such as the Chamber of Cocoa Marketers, processors, and hauliers were involved in the discussions that resulted in the new price.
The statement is made in accordance with the Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 2026, which was recently approved and guarantees cocoa farmers at least 70% of the gross FOB price that was realized.
The new legislation is one of several reforms aimed at strengthening the cocoa industry’s financial and institutional sustainability and improving farmers’ output.
In addition to forbidding COCOBOD from participating in quasi-fiscal operations, the CEO said that the statute also put in place a new funding mechanism to encourage increased local value creation.
The updated producer price comes at a moment when the cocoa business is undergoing changes to its governance and financial arrangements.
The present prices and charges for other actors in the cocoa supply chain—including haulers’ rates, purchasers’ margins, warehousing and internal marketing costs, and grading, sealing, and disinfestation fees—have been maintained.
Dr Abbey intimated that COCOBOD would move forward with initiatives to enhance productivity in order to reduce production costs and raise yields, even after factoring in the producer price.
Among the programmes are the provision of free fertilizer, the Cocoa Diseases and Pests Control Program, and hybrid cocoa seedlings. He said that the programmes are expected to boost farmers’ income and increase farm output. The new price is also expected to help alleviate the industry’s continuous worries about cocoa smuggling.
He also exhorted all security agencies, licensed buying firms, farmers, and traditional authorities to support efforts to protect the country’s cocoa output.
Dr Abbey intimated that the Ghana Cocoa Traceability System has been fully implemented by COCOBOD in all cocoa-growing areas. He further indicated that the system would enable Ghana to abide by the European Union Deforestation Regulation’s (EUDR) requirements, which are set to take effect on December 30, 2026.
The traceability system aims to prove that Ghanaian cocoa supplied to the EU market is traceable, legally grown, and free of child labour and deforestation.
He continued by saying that the strategy would increase transparency and sustainability throughout the cocoa value chain, encompassing raw beans, processed cocoa goods, and semi-processed cocoa products.
Source: Graphic Online