The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has increased the producer price of cocoa for the 2026/2027 season by GH¢63 per 64-kilogramme bag, but key figures underpinning the new price—including the world market benchmark and the Cedi-Dollar exchange rate—were not disclosed in the announcement.
The new producer price of GH¢2,650 per bag, up from GH¢2,587 at the end of the 2025/2026 season, represents an increase of about 2.4%.
For a tonne of cocoa, comprising 16 bags of 64 kilogrammes each, farmers will receive an additional GH¢1,008, taking the producer price from GH¢41,392 to GH¢42,400 per tonne.
COCOBOD says the new price represents 71.18% of the realised gross Free-On-Board (FOB) value of cocoa.
However, the announcement did not specify the international cocoa price or the exchange rate used in arriving at the figure, making it difficult to independently assess how the 71.18% producer share and the GH¢2,650 farm-gate price were calculated.
World Market Benchmark Not Disclosed
One of the key figures absent from the announcement is the international cocoa price used as the benchmark for determining the producer price.
International cocoa prices are a major factor in determining the value of Ghana’s cocoa exports and, consequently, the amount available for distribution across the cocoa value chain.
Cocoa futures were trading towards US$5,500 per tonne, while spot prices were hovering around US$5,600 per tonne on Friday, September 25, 2026.
COCOBOD’s announcement, however, did not indicate whether either of these prices—or another benchmark—formed the basis of the new producer price.
The Cedi-to-Dollar exchange rate applied in the calculation was also not disclosed.
The exchange rate is significant because Ghana’s cocoa is sold internationally in foreign currency while farmers are paid in Cedis.
Without both the international benchmark price and the exchange rate, independently verifying the calculation behind the stated 71.18% share becomes difficult.
Spot or Futures Price?
Another unanswered question is whether the GH¢2,650 producer price was calculated using the spot market or futures market price.
A futures price is based on a standardised agreement to buy or sell a specified quantity of cocoa at an agreed price on a future date, while a spot price reflects the prevailing price for an immediate transaction and physical delivery.
The distinction is particularly important for Ghana because the country has traded cocoa on the futures market for more than five decades.
The system has traditionally enabled Ghana to set a fixed producer price, providing farmers with some protection against daily volatility on the international market.
That stability, however, can also mean that domestic producer prices do not immediately reflect sharp increases or decreases in global cocoa prices.
The issue has become more significant following earlier indications by the Government that it was adopting a spot-price approach.
The latest announcement does not clearly state which of the two market references was used in determining the new producer price.
Sharp Price Movements Over Two Seasons
The latest adjustment comes after significant movements in Ghana’s cocoa producer price over the past two seasons.
For the 2024/2025 season, the producer price was increased to GH¢48,000 per tonne, equivalent to GH¢3,000 per 64-kilogramme bag.
That represented a substantial increase from GH¢20,928 per tonne, or GH¢1,308 per bag, announced at the opening of the 2023/2024 season.
The increase between the two price levels amounted to 129.36%.
The adjustment came amid a sharp rally in international cocoa prices.
Spot prices climbed from around US$2,000 per tonne in March 2023 to a peak of US$12,072 per tonne in February 2024 before falling to US$7,960 per tonne in September 2024.
On the futures market, cocoa prices rose from about US$2,200 per tonne in March 2023 to above US$10,000 per tonne in February 2024 before declining to US$6,246 per tonne in September 2024.
Producer Price Increased Again
The producer price was subsequently increased to GH¢3,100 per 64-kilogramme bag in November 2024.
During the 2025/2026 season, the Government again adjusted the producer price on August 4, 2025, to GH¢3,228.75 per 64-kilogramme bag.
At the time, the Government stated that the price represented 70% of a gross FOB value of US$7,200 per tonne, calculated using an average exchange rate of GH¢10.25 to US$1.
By mid-2025, international cocoa prices had stabilised somewhat but remained around US$10,000 per tonne.
The August 2025 producer price nevertheless attracted public criticism, with concerns raised over whether the adjustment adequately reflected prevailing international cocoa prices and expectations over farmer earnings.
GH¢3,625 Price Later Reversed
The controversy was also linked to an earlier campaign promise by the then opposition party to increase the producer price to between GH¢6,000 and GH¢7,000 per 64-kilogramme bag.
Following the public debate, the Government subsequently increased the producer price to GH¢3,625 per bag, effective October 3, 2025.
That price was later reduced to GH¢2,587 per bag, which became the benchmark from which the latest increase for the 2026/2027 season has been calculated.
Farmers Get GH¢63 More Per Bag
Against that background, the new GH¢2,650 producer price gives farmers an additional GH¢63 for every 64-kilogramme bag compared with the GH¢2,587 price at which the previous season ended.
For every tonne sold, farmers will receive GH¢1,008 more, with the producer price increasing from GH¢41,392 to GH¢42,400.
The new price, however, remains GH¢975 below the GH¢3,625 per bag announced in October 2025.
It is also GH¢350 below the GH¢3,000 per bag price announced for the 2024/2025 season and GH¢450 below the GH¢3,100 price announced in November 2024.
Questions Over Pricing Formula
Beyond the size of the latest increase, questions remain over the information provided on the formula used to determine the new producer price.
COCOBOD has announced the final producer price and stated that it represents 71.18% of realised gross FOB value, but the international cocoa price, Cedi-Dollar exchange rate and whether the calculation is based on spot or futures prices were not stated.
Those figures are important for independently assessing the producer price, particularly because underlying assumptions have accompanied some previous price announcements.
For instance, the August 2025 producer price of GH¢3,228.75 per bag was announced alongside a gross FOB benchmark of US$7,200 per tonne, a 70% producer share and an exchange rate of GH¢10.25 to US$1.
The absence of comparable figures in the latest announcement leaves farmers, industry stakeholders and the public without some of the information required to independently assess how the GH¢2,650 producer price and the stated 71.18% share were derived.
As Ghana enters the 2026/2027 cocoa season, farmers will receive GH¢63 more for each bag of cocoa than at the end of the previous season.
But beyond the increase, the international benchmark price, exchange rate and market pricing mechanism used in arriving at the new producer price remain key unanswered questions.
