Cocoa farmers reject new producer price; warn of escalating smuggling to Ivory Coast

A storm is brewing in the cocoa sector as thousands of farmers have expressed outright rejection of the government’s newly announced producer price for the 2025/2026 season.

Farmer groups say the marginal increase offered is not only inadequate but could worsen an already alarming trend of cross-border smuggling of cocoa beans to neighbouring Ivory Coast and Togo.

On August 4, 2025, the government, through the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), announced that farmers would receive GHS 51,660 per metric ton or GHS 3,228 per 64kg bag for the upcoming season.This represents a 4% increase over last year’s price.

But according to the Ghana Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Association, the increment falls short of the government’s earlier pledge to peg the price at 70% of the Free-on-Board (FOB) value, the international benchmark used in cocoa trade.

“If government had been true to its word, farmers should have been receiving about GHS 3,800 per bag this season, not GHS 3,228,” said Theophilus Tamakloe, Vice President of the Association.

“The reality is that many farmers will be forced to smuggle because the government has not been fair to us.”

Farmers Threaten Boycott of COCOBOD Officers

The coalition, representing over 300,000 farmers nationwide, has threatened to bar COCOBOD’s extension officers from accessing their farms in protest.

These officers play a critical role in providing technical support, crop inspections, and training across cocoa-growing communities.

Farmers say blocking them will send a strong signal of their displeasure.

“We will not sit and allow the regulator to shortchange us while prices across the border are higher. If I were near Côte d’Ivoire, all my beans would cross there,” Tamakloe warned.

Smuggling – An Old Problem Reignited

Ghana, the world’s second-largest cocoa producer after Côte d’Ivoire, has long grappled with the menace of smuggling.

In the 2023/2024 season, COCOBOD estimated that the country lost about 160,000 metric tons of cocoa to illegal cross-border trade, a figure that represented nearly 15% of total production.

Farmers are lured by price differentials as Ivorian traders often pay significantly more for beans than Ghana’s fixed farmgate price.

Kwame Alex, who was recently honoured as the Best Cocoa Farmer, explained that the disparity is once again glaring. “There’s about GHS 700 difference between what Ghana pays and what farmers get in Côte d’Ivoire. That gap alone creates a huge incentive for smuggling,” he noted.

Rising Costs Deepen Frustration

Beyond pricing, farmers argue that production costs have spiraled in recent years, making cocoa farming increasingly unsustainable.

“A single insecticide now sells for about GHS 150, and if you hire spraying equipment, you pay not less than GHS 100 per day,” Alex said. “With such expenses, how do you expect farmers to survive on these prices?”

Government Under Pressure

The National Democratic Congress government which promise GHC6000 cocoa price for the farmers is, already battling economic headwinds, faces mounting pressure to revisit the pricing structure.

Cocoa is Ghana’s largest foreign exchange earner, contributing up to 30% of export revenue and directly sustaining the livelihoods of about 800,000 smallholder farmers. Any disruption in the sector could have ripple effects on the broader economy.

For now, the farmers’ revolt threatens to further destabilize the industry. If carried through, the boycott of COCOBOD officers and a potential surge in smuggling could undermine Ghana’s export volumes and dent government revenues at a time when the economy remains fragile.

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture and COCOBOD have yet to issue a formal response to the farmers’ demands.

But with the new season set to begin in a few weeks, the standoff is shaping into a major test of the government’s ability to balance fiscal discipline with the welfare of the country’s most important agricultural workforce.