President Akufo-Addo addresses the gathering at Sefwi Wiawso at the launch of the Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has disclosed that the new cocoa producer price for the start of the 2020/2021 crop year will be GH¢10,560 per metric ton, equivalent to GH¢660 per bag.
This represents an increase of more than 28 per cent over the price obtained in the outgoing crop year of 2019/2020.
The President made this disclosure yesterday at Sefwi Wiawso during the launch of the Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme, as part of day one of his 3-day tour of the Western North Region.
The current 2019/20 producer price of GH¢8,240 per metric ton, i.e. GH¢514 per bag, was an 8.2 per cent increase over the 2018/2019 price of GH¢7,615, i.e. GH¢475 per bag.
“Nananom, beginning 1st October 2020, I am happy to announce the award of a new cocoa producer price of ten thousand, five hundred and sixty cedis (GH¢10,560) per metric ton, equivalent to six hundred and sixty cedis (GH¢660) per bag for the coming 2020/21 crop year. This represents a hike of more than twenty-eight per cent (28%) over the price obtained in the outgoing crop year of 2019/2020,” he stated.
“By this new producer price, we have kept faith with our commitment, under the international arrangement with Côte d’Ivoire and global stakeholders, by awarding to our farmers the full four hundred United States dollars per metric ton (US$400/MT) Living Income Differential (LID),” the President added. .
According to him, “by this substantial increase in the producer price, we are also delivering on our 2016 manifesto promise to reward handsomely the hard work of our cocoa farmers and their unequalled contribution to the economy of Ghana over the years.”
Living Income Differential
Touching on the unstable nature of cocoa prices on the world cocoa market, President Akufo-Addo stated: “It remains one of the biggest challenges to ensuring payment of decent farm-gate prices to our cocoa farmers.”
With Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire responsible for 65 per cent of the raw cocoa beans used in making chocolates, the President bemoaned the fact that cocoa farmers from the two countries get just US$6 billion from an over $100 billion chocolate industry.
This, he explained, is the meagre return that hardworking farmers get from their toil.
“Government believes that value-addition to our cocoa, and the search for new markets, will make us more money than all the aid given to us by all the donor countries. We shall gain some dignity, and spare the donors the fatigue we have all heard about,” he added.
This, according to President Akufo-Addo, is the rationale for the strategic partnership between Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, the common initiative of President Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire and himself, which is manifesting itself in a joint cocoa production and marketing policy, and already paying dividends.
“Today, I am happy to announce that Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire are receiving a Living Income Differential (LID) of four hundred United States dollars (US$400) per ton of cocoa, which is an additional earning from the world market price for our farmers.
“The Living Income Differential is going to guarantee some stability to the producer price of cocoa and sustainability of the industry in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire,” the President said.
Source: dailystatesman.com.gh
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