Cocoa price hike to GH¢42,400/tonne is fair and meets legal benchmark – Agricultural lecturer
An agricultural lecturer has defended the newly announced cocoa producer price of GH¢42,400 per tonne for the 2026/27 season as a fair increase that exceeds the statutory minimum share for farmers.
Speaking on the Bluewaves Breakfast Show, William Apalyam of Bolgatanga Technical University said the price, which translates to GH¢2,650 per 64kg bag, represents about 71.18% of the realised gross Free-on-Board (FOB) value. This is above the 70% minimum guaranteed to farmers under the Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 2026 (Act 1182).
Gna
“Looking at the increment, can we fairly call it a fair increment? Yes, and this is why. Under the recently enacted cocoa bond framework, the farmer is entitled to 70% of the FOB price. When you do the mathematics, the farmer’s share comes to about 71.18%. That is above the 70% benchmark. On that basis, I believe government is on track,” Apalyam said.
COCOBOD Chief Executive Dr Randy Abbey announced the price on 25 September 2026 at the official opening of the new season. It marks a rise of GH¢1,008 per tonne (about 2.44%) from the previous GH¢41,392, or GH¢63 more per bag. The figure followed consultations with the Ministry of Finance, cocoa farmers, licensed buying companies, hauliers and processors.
Pulse
Apalyam acknowledged that the increase does not fully offset current inflation of about 5%, leaving a real-terms gap of roughly three percentage points. However, he stressed that inflation is outside COCOBOD’s control and that the sector leadership had delivered on its responsibility.
“Of course, the ultimate test is whether the farmer is happy. To a large extent, the farmer should be happy, even though the increment does not fully offset inflation… The question is whether the person in charge of the cocoa sector has done his part. My answer is yes. Dr. Randy has done well, and to a large extent government has done well,” he stated.
He pushed back against comparisons that focus only on nominal bag prices without accounting for inflation and exchange rate movements. Apalyam noted that farmers previously received around GH¢3,100 per 64kg bag when inflation was about 23%, while today’s GH¢2,650 comes against much lower inflation of around 5%. He also pointed to the stronger cedi, which has improved from roughly GH¢14–15 to the dollar to about GH¢10–11.
“If, at that time, you spent GH¢1,000 on a bag of maize to feed your family, and today the same bag costs GH¢400, then GH¢2,650 today can buy far more than GH¢3,100 could then… The price has dropped not because government cannot pay or because farmers do not deserve more, but because the cedi has strengthened,” he argued.
Apalyam, who described himself as a farmer’s son, said some agricultural input costs have either fallen or remained relatively stable, further supporting farmers’ positions. While farmers can always seek higher shares such as 80% or more of FOB he maintained that describing the current increment as inadequate is inaccurate.
“A farmer is a farmer… No one is ever fully satisfied with money; we can always ask for more… But to say the increment is not good is not true. It is good… the farmer is in a good position, though the farmer can be better.”
The new pricing sits within broader reforms under Act 1182, which also aims to protect farms from illegal mining, support domestic value addition and shift cocoa financing toward domestic cocoa bonds.
By Gayheart Abraham
Source: Mybluewavesonline.com/Maurice Duncan/ Bolgatanga
