A coalition of Ghanaian cocoa farmers has vowed to block officials of the national regulator, COCOBOD, from entering their farms in protest against the newly announced producer price for the 2025/2026 season. The group warns the pricing decision could trigger widespread smuggling of cocoa into neighboring Ivory Coast and Togo, where farmers earn higher returns.
More than 300,000 farmers have voiced anger over what they describe as inadequate compensation. Some have openly declared their intention to divert their entire harvest across the border if they lived close enough to take advantage of better prices.
On August 4, the government announced a fixed farmgate price of ₵51,660 ($4,783) per ton, or ₵3,228 per 64-kg bag—a modest 4% increase over last season. But farmer leaders argue the figure falls short of the government’s own pledge to pay 70% of the free-on-board (FOB) international market price, which should have translated into about ₵3,800 per bag.“The announced price does not reflect the government’s promise,” said Theophilus Tamakloe, Vice President of the Ghana Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Association. “If I’m near the Ivory Coast border, probably all my cocoa beans will go there, because the government has not been fair to us.”
Kwame Alex, recently named Ghana’s Best Cocoa Farmer but not part of the coalition, also warned that the price gap of about ₵700 per bag between Ghana and Ivory Coast creates strong incentives for smuggling.
The coalition’s threat to exclude COCOBOD extension officers marks a serious escalation, potentially disrupting vital farm services such as crop monitoring and farmer education.
Smuggling is already a major challenge for Ghana’s cocoa sector. According to COCOBOD, the country lost approximately 160,000 tons of cocoa to cross-border smuggling during the 2023/24 season. Farmers also argue that rising costs—such as insecticides now priced at ₵150 each and equipment rentals at ₵100 per day—make the government’s new price even less sustainable.
The standoff underscores deepening frustrations within Ghana’s cocoa industry, as farmers weigh the economic pressures of local pricing against the temptations of cross-border trade.
Source: Reuters
