Press Release
Date: September 1, 2025
GCCFA EXPRESSES DISSATISFACTION OVER NEW COCOA PRICE FOR 2025/2026 COCOA SEASON
The Ghana Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Association Limited (GCCFA)
serves as an umbrella body for cocoa farmer cooperative unions in Ghana with a vision to advocate for the interests and success of cooperative unions, providing a national voice to ensure a sustainable inclusive cocoa sector.
The Association has a membership of 70 cooperative cocoa farmer unions involving 340, 000 individual cocoa farmers across the cocoa growing regions in Ghana including Ashanti, Central, Eastern, Western, Western north, Volta, Bono, and Ahafo. Its mission is to facilitate the smooth operation of cocoa farmers’ unions, providing training and education, promoting best agronomic practices, amplifying the voice of cocoa farmers internally and externally.
GCCFA wishes to express its gratitude to Ghana Cocoa Board and the government for their various initiatives in supporting cocoa farmers. Again, we acknowledge the government's efforts to review cocoa prices according to global market trends, as well as the appreciation of the cedi which has influenced the exchange rate. Notwithstanding, the revised price does not fully meet the expectations of cocoa farmers given recent reassurances.
We wish to convey our deep dissatisfaction with the newly announced cocoa price for the 2025/2026 cocoa season set at US$5,040 per tonne translating to GHS 3, 228.75 per 64kg bag. Our concern relates to the use of 7, 200 dollars as the FOB price and the use of 10.25 cedis as the exchange rate which are not reflective of current market realities and cost structures and, therefore, call for immediate review.
Our research among members revealed that 67% of cocoa farmers sampled believe a fair price lies between GHS 7,000 and 10,000 for a 64kg bag of cocoa, 25% between GHS 4,000 and 6,000 and 8% support l0,000 or more.
However, at the time of the announcement, the official market price for the 2024/2025 cocoa season stood at GHS 3,100 per 64 kg (approximately US$200 at an exchange rate of GHS15.5 to US$1) which has now been adjusted to GHS 3, 228.75 (approximately US$315 at an exchange rate of GHS10.25 to US$1) for the 2025/2026 cocoa season.
We wish to state unequivocally that government should have at least increased the price to no less than 4,000 Ghana cedis to help give cocoa farmers some relief and improve the sector.
We wish to state unequivocally that government should have at least increased the price to no less than 4,000 Ghana cedis to help give cocoa farmers some relief and improve the sector.
Furthermore, the government should consider that in recent years, labour costs partly due to illegal gold mining activities, transportation, inputs and maintenance costs have tripled. The current price is, however, inadequate to support farming activities or even motivate the youths to go into cocoa farming and improve overall cocoa output.
The current price has the tendency to undermine cocoa farming and farmer livelihood as highlighted by cocoa farmers during our participatory research due to several challenges as seen below:
1.Difficulty in purchasing of inputs, tools & machinery and hiring of labour. Our research indicates that 83% of cocoa farmers believe that a significant increase of cocoa price will have a positive effect on their ability to purchase inputs like fertilizers, pesticides.
2.Limited finances for household expenses due to high cost of living.
3.Smuggling. About 79% of cocoa farmers cite inadequate cocoa bag price as a key driver of smuggling.
4.High cost and delays in farm maintenance activities like weeding, pruning etc.
5.Limited involvement of youth in the cocoa farming because it is perceived unattractive.
6.Pressure from “galamsey” operators to buy cocoa farms, citing low price of cocoa as insufficient for a decent livelihood.
7.Delays in paying salaried employees
We the farmers wish to request the following regarding the pricing of cocoa:
1.Farmer involvement. Cooperative Cocoa Farmers Association is requesting to be involved in the price-setting discussions, to bring the real local situations and perspective of cocoa farmers to the table.
2.Transparent communication, and regular consultation before the announcement of prices.
3.Cocoa farmers suggest that, for the timely and effective supply of inputs, distribution be channelled through the Cooperative Association for its members.
Government’s agenda to reset the country should be encompassing to include the cocoa sector. We wish, therefore, to call for an urgent dialogue between government stakeholders, COCOBOD and the Cooperative Association to discuss the challenges outlined above and the way forward. We remain open to collaboration and dialogue to move the cocoa sector ahead.
Signed,
National president, GCCFA
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