The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has challenged the newly announced GH¢2,650 producer price for a 64-kilogramme bag of cocoa, arguing that farmers should receive GH¢2,968.40 per bag based on its calculation of the statutory minimum producer share.

The party says the GH¢2,650 price announced for the 2026/2027 cocoa season falls GH¢318.40 short of what farmers should receive under its calculation.

Dr Isaac Yaw Opoku, Co-chair of the NPP Policy Committee on Agriculture, questioned the basis of the new price and called on the Government and Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to disclose the international benchmark price, exchange rate and other variables used in determining it.

COCOBOD has increased the producer price from GH¢41,392 per tonne, equivalent to GH¢2,587 per 64-kilogramme bag, to GH¢42,400 per tonne, translating into GH¢2,650 per bag.

The increase gives farmers an additional GH¢63 per bag, or GH¢1,008 per tonne.

COCOBOD says the new price represents 71.18% of the realised gross Free-on-Board (FOB) value of cocoa.

The Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 2026 (Act 1182), guarantees farmers a minimum of 70% of the realised gross FOB price.

Dr Opoku, however, disputed the basis of COCOBOD’s calculation and maintained that applying the statutory threshold to the market assumptions used by the NPP would produce a higher farm-gate price.

NPP Arrives at GH¢2,968.40

Explaining the party’s calculation, Dr Opoku said international cocoa prices had traded between US$5,500 and more than US$6,000 per tonne over the preceding three months.

He therefore questioned how COCOBOD arrived at the gross FOB value underpinning its producer price.

Using an international cocoa price of US$5,500 per tonne, Dr Opoku added the US$400 Living Income Differential (LID) paid by buyers, producing an assumed value of US$5,900 per tonne.

He then applied an exchange rate of GH¢11.50 to US$1, arriving at GH¢67,850 per tonne.

According to his calculation, 70% of that amount would give farmers GH¢47,495 per tonne.

With 16 bags constituting a tonne, he said the resulting producer price would be approximately GH¢2,968.40 per 64-kilogramme bag.

On that basis, the NPP argues that the announced GH¢2,650 price leaves farmers about GH¢318 short on every bag.

The calculation reflects the assumptions selected by the NPP and differs from COCOBOD’s position that the official price represents 71.18% of its realised gross FOB value.

NPP Demands Pricing Details

Dr Opoku called on COCOBOD to provide further details on the methodology used to arrive at the new producer price.

He particularly questioned whether the US$400 Living Income Differential had been incorporated into the calculation.

“Farmers also want to know whether COCOBOD forgot to include in their computation the Living Income Differential of $400 buyers pay for every ton of cocoa,” he said.

Dr Opoku maintained that greater disclosure of the benchmark international price and exchange rate would enable farmers and industry stakeholders to assess the calculation behind the producer price.

“Seventy percent of Gross FOB price of cocoa as the law prescribes is not GH¢2,650,” he said.

COCOBOD, however, maintains that the GH¢42,400 per tonne producer price represents 71.18% of realised gross FOB value.

Concerns Over Outstanding Cocoa Payments

Dr Opoku also raised concerns about money allegedly owed to Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) for cocoa supplied during the 2025/2026 crop season.

Citing reports from the Chamber of Cocoa Marketers Association, he claimed that about GH¢4 billion worth of cocoa delivered to COCOBOD during the previous crop year remained unpaid.

He said the situation had raised concerns among LBCs and farmers about the timely payment for cocoa purchases during the new season.

According to him, the 2025/2026 crop year stretched for almost 14 months instead of the usual 12 months, while some payments for cocoa deliveries were delayed.

He called on the Government to settle outstanding amounts he said were owed to farmers and LBCs.

NPP Revisits 2024 Campaign Promises

Dr Opoku also used the producer price announcement to criticise the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) over statements made about cocoa prices during the 2024 election campaign.

He alleged that leading NDC figures had indicated during the campaign that cocoa farmers could receive GH¢6,000 per bag.

He contrasted that figure with the GH¢3,625 per bag announced in October 2025 and the subsequent reduction to GH¢2,587 per bag in February 2026.

Dr Opoku questioned why the producer price had fallen below previous levels and criticised the manner in which the reduction was implemented.

“The cocoa farmer is not asking for charity. The farmer is rather asking for fairness, certainty, timely payment and transparent marketing,” he said.

He urged the Government and COCOBOD to publish more details of the assumptions behind the GH¢2,650 price, arguing that greater transparency would help restore confidence among cocoa farmers and other industry stakeholders.

The dispute over the new price comes as COCOBOD begins implementing reforms under the Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 2026, including a pricing framework linked to international market prices, exchange rates and other variables while guaranteeing farmers at least 70% of realised gross FOB value.