The Minority in Parliament has criticized the recently announced cocoa producer price of GH₵3,228.75 per bag, branding it a “betrayal of Ghanaian cocoa farmers.” The parliamentary group has dismissed the price as “ridiculous, unfair, and completely unacceptable,” following the government’s declaration of a 62.58% increase in the producer price of cocoa.
With the price per tonne rising from US$3,100 to US$5,040, this adjustment translates to an increase from GH₵49,600 to GH₵51,660 per tonne, effectively setting the price at GH₵3,228.75 for a 64kg bag. This new pricing, which has been sanctioned by the Producer Price Review Committee chaired by Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, is set to go into effect on Thursday, August 7, 2025.
At a press briefing held on Tuesday, August 5, Dr. Isaac Yaw Opoku, the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Food and Agriculture Committee, voiced his dissatisfaction on behalf of the caucus. He expressed that the new price constitutes a “stab in the back” of the hard-working farmers whose contributions are vital to Ghana’s economy.
Denouncing the pricing strategy as “comical and shameful,” Dr. Opoku cautioned that inadequate compensation could drive cocoa farmers to abandon their farms in favor of leasing them to illegal miners, potentially exacerbating Ghana’s ongoing galamsey crisis and jeopardizing the future of the country’s cocoa industry.
“Cocoa farmers deserve far better for their toil and sacrifices. They cannot continue to be taken for granted,” he asserted. “This new farm gate price of GH₵3,228.75 per bag is nothing short of absurd and shameful. It feels like complete ‘sakawa,’ and it is simply unacceptable.”
Dr. Opoku emphasized the urgency of a price review to provide motivation for cocoa farmers and to prevent them from yielding their lands to galamsey operators. He underscored the importance of safeguarding the cocoa industry and protecting the livelihoods of farmers, urging the government to reevaluate its pricing strategy.
“If you cannot spell, you do not write,” he stated firmly, imploring that cocoa farmers, who are critical to maintaining Ghana’s prestigious position in the industry, deserve better compensation and respect for their contributions. “Cocoa Farmers matter and demand better!”
Source: Apexnewsgh.com
