Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the NPP Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi, has asked the John Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government if the Producer Price of Cocoa for the 2025/2026 season is what they promised cocoa farmers in the 2024 elections.
Oppong Nkrumah noted that the NDC government always try to hide the truth, but they are going to work the numbers.
According to him, one must ask oneself how much Akufo-Addo increased cocoa prices during his tenure and compare that to what John Mahama and Ato Forson have done.
It will be recalled that the NDC in opposition promised cocoa farmers that when they win power, they would pay cocoa farmers GH₵6,000 per bag; however, the NDC government yesterday, August 4, announced GHS3,228.75 per bag.
Speaking to the media, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah detailed, “We are just working the numbers, we have just come out of a meeting, and we have seen percentages, and they are using the dollar. You know, the NDC, what they do is they try to hide the truth, so you have to take your time and work the numbers.
The most important thing, and I encourage all of you and your newsrooms to do pick the cedi value of a bag of cocoa on the market today, compare it to the new price they have announced and see”.
He noted that “Somebody is telling me the change is about 100 cedis or something. Is that what they told the farmers? Is that what Ato Forson told the farmers is that what he told them. So please, if the change is 128 cedis, ask yourself the last time Akufo-Addo increased a bag of cocoa, how much did he increase it by, and when Ato Forson and President Mahama increased a bag of cocoa, how much did they increase it?
At the end of the day, that is the analysis. Go and ask the farmers on the ground they will tell you”.
Kojo Oppong Nkrumah’s comment comes following Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the finance minister, announcing that the government has approved the increase in the producer price of cocoa from US$3,100 per tonne to US$5,040 per tonne.
The new prices are set to take effect from Thursday, 7th August 2025.
Ato Forson, in a post, wrote, “The Producer Price Review Committee (PPRC) on Cocoa, under my Chairmanship, met and agreed on the Producer Price of Cocoa for the 2025/2026 season, which opens on Thursday, 7th August 2025.
Subsequent to this meeting, Government is pleased to announce an increase in the producer price of cocoa from US$3,100 per tonne to US$5,040 per tonne!”.
The finance minister noted that the Government has, by this decision, increased the producer price significantly by 62.58% in US$ terms.
He added, “This increase in the producer price represents 70% of the gross Free-On-Board (FOB) value of $7,200 per tonne, and aligns with President Mahama’s promise to pay cocoa farmers 70% of the FOB price.
It is significant to note that for the 2024/25 cocoa season, the previous NPP administration set an FOB value of US$4,850 per tonne of cocoa, and the producer price at US$3,100, representing 63.9% of FOB, even though the world market price at the time was much better”.
His statement on X added that the Gross FOB value was arrived at using outstanding cocoa contracts of about 100,000 tonnes sold at US$2,600 per tonne in the 2023/2024 crop season, and an average forecast for the 2025/2026 crop season.
Ato Forson asserted that an average exchange rate of GHS10.25 to the US Dollar for the 2025/2026 crop season, revealing that “the Government is pleased to announce an increase in the producer price of cocoa from GHS49,600 per tonne to GHS51,660 per tonne”.
“This further translates to an amount of GHS3,228.75 per bag of 64-kilogram gross weight of cocoa”, he added.
Dr Randy Abbey, the Ghana Cocoa Board CEO had earlier revealed some months ago announced that a new cocoa producer price will be revealed in August 2025, surpassing the Ivory Coast’s price.
CEO Dr Randy Abbey stated, “President John Mahama, the desire he has is that farmers must have profits, but we must also let you know the truth.
What I can tell you is that the president this year season will be open in August 2025, 2026, and we are going to give a new producer price, and the new producer price will be more than that of the Ivory Coast”, he added.
However, Dr Randy Abbey, in a recent interview, before the new prices, noted that the recent appreciation of the cedi diminished the rise of the cocoa price per ton, which is set to rise substantially.
“What we are seeing now is a situation where global prices are high, and that would normally translate into higher incomes for our farmers. But with the cedi appreciating sharply, the gains could be reduced when translated into Ghana cedi”, he added.
Watch the video below:
Cocoa Producer Price Hike: Farmers are being fleeced under the guise of policy breakthrough – Minority.#JoyNews pic.twitter.com/gE4DXMthsr
— JoyNews (@JoyNewsOnTV) August 4, 2025