A coalition of cocoa farmers in Ghana has threatened to prevent officers of the national regulator, COCOBOD, from entering their farms in protest against the newly announced producer price for the 2025/2026 season.
More than 300,000 farmers expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s decision, warning that the low pricing could worsen illegal smuggling of cocoa to neighbouring Ivory Coast and Togo, where prices are perceived to be more attractive.
On August 4, the government announced a fixed farmgate price of 51,660 cedis ($4,783) per ton — equivalent to 3,228 cedis per 64kg bag. This represents only a 4% increase from the previous season, a figure many farmers say falls short of expectations.
Theophilus Tamakloe, Vice President of the Ghana Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Association, criticised the pricing formula. “The price falls short of the government’s promise to pay 70% of the free-on-board price used in international trade, which should have yielded around 3,800 cedis per bag,” he said.
Kwame Alex, who was recently named Best Cocoa Farmer at the national awards, also raised concerns about the price gap with Ivory Coast. “There is a differential of about 700 cedis between the Ghanaian price and what Ivorian farmers earn, and that creates incentives for smuggling,” he explained.
Mr Tamakloe added that if he lived near the Ivorian border, he would consider smuggling his entire harvest. “If I’m close to the Côte d’Ivoire border, probably all my cocoa beans will go to Côte d’Ivoire because the government has not been fair to us,” he said.
The coalition’s threat to bar COCOBOD officers marks a serious escalation, as extension officers play a vital role in monitoring farms, providing technical support, and training farmers on crop management.
The standoff also highlights growing frustrations in the cocoa sector, which has been struggling with rising smuggling levels. According to COCOBOD, Ghana lost around 160,000 tons of cocoa to illegal cross-border trade in the 2023/24 season alone.
Adding to the farmers’ grievances are rising production costs. Kwame Alex pointed out that the price of insecticides has reached 150 cedis each, while equipment rental fees now cost up to 100 cedis per day, eating into farmers’ already slim margins.
With cocoa serving as one of Ghana’s largest export earners, the ongoing standoff between farmers and regulators raises concerns about production stability and the future of the industry.
