The government’s recent announcement of a new cocoa producer price for the 2025/2026 season has triggered sharp political exchanges — with NPP MP for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, publicly calling out Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson over what he describes as a misleading celebration of a meagre price adjustment.
Dr. Ato Forson, in a Facebook post on August 4, disclosed that under his chairmanship, the Producer Price Review Committee had approved a new cocoa price of GHC 3,228.75 per 64kg bag, effective Thursday, August 7, 2025. This figure, he said, represents 70% of the Free-On-Board (FOB) price of $7,200 per tonne — a fulfillment of President Mahama’s promise to cocoa farmers.
However, Ekow Assafuah didn’t mince words in his reply.
“Let me help you summarize your own statement: In 2024, the price of a bag of cocoa was GHC 3,100. After all your lofty promises, the new price is just GHC 3,228.75. Is this the heaven on earth you promised?” he posted.
The MP added that the increase represents the lowest adjustment to cocoa prices since 2016, challenging the government’s attempt to spin it as a win. “#Truth over governance of optics,” he concluded.
While the government argues that the jump from $3,100 to $5,040 per tonne in dollar terms represents a 62.58% increase, the local impact, as translated through an average exchange rate of GHS10.25 to the dollar, tells a different story.
In cedi terms, the increment amounts to just GHS128.75 per bag — a rise from GHC 3,100 to GHC 3,228.75.
Ato Forson insisted that the new rate is more equitable to farmers compared to the previous administration’s 63.9% share of the FOB value.
He also defended the $7,200 FOB figure, citing 100,000 tonnes sold at $2,600 per tonne from the 2023/24 crop season as the basis.
But for Assafuah and critics within the opposition, the argument is not just about percentages. It’s about real, tangible gains for farmers, many of whom have faced rising costs of inputs and worsening currency depreciation over the past year.
