The Minority in Parliament has strongly slammed the John Mahama-led government’s decision to reduce the cocoa producer price.
According to the minority caucus, the move is unfair to farmers and detrimental to the sector.
The minority demanded a reduction in the salary of public sector workers in line with the decline in farmgate prices of cocoa.
The minority further quizzed whether the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD’s salary and allowance would be reduced by the same margin.
Addressing the media on Thursday, February 12, Ranking Member on the Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee, Dr Isaac Yaw Opoku, stated, “This has never happened. Why are we treating cocoa farmers this way? The cocoa farmer has never enjoyed the full benefit of the FOB price. Cocoa farmers have sacrificed for this country”.
“If the cocoa farmer’s price is going to be reduced by almost 30 per cent, then everybody’s pay in this country should also be slashed by that margin. Is the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD’s salary and allowance going to be reduced by the same margin?. Today is a sad day for the country. The President should come again. Cocoa farmers deserve better,” he stated.
The minority remarks follow Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, who has announced a revised cocoa price of 64kg cocoa bag from GHS 3,625 to GHS 2,587 for the remainder of the 2025/2026 season.
According to Ato Forson, the decision comes after the Producer Price Review Committee (PPRC), under his chairmanship, convened earlier in the day to assess the challenges facing the Cocoa sector.
Speaking during a press briefing on Thursday, February 12, Dr Forson disclosed, “The PPRC has recommended that the farmer be paid 90% of the achieved gross fob of USD 4,200 per tonne”.
He added that the committee set the new producer price at GH₵41,392 per tonne, equivalent to GH₵2,587 per bag, effective immediately.
“As a result of that, the PPRC thereby announces that effective today, Thursday, 12th February, 2026, the new producer price for the remainder of the 2025, 2026 crop season will now be GH 41, 392 per tonne and 2,587 per bag,” he noted.
“This measure is necessary to enable the expedited payment of farmers and to guarantee the sustainability of our cocoa industry,” he said.
Ato Forson, in a post, further explained the development, saying, “1. On Wednesday, 11th February, 2026, Cabinet convened an emergency session to deliberate over developments in the cocoa sector. The session considered historical and systemic problems confronting the sector and took key decisions.
2. The meeting noted the following developments in the cocoa sector.
3. The 2025/26 cocoa season began in August 2025, with a Producer Price of GH¢51,660 per tonne calculated as 70% of the Gross FOB of US$7,200 per tonne using an exchange rate of 10.25 cedis to the US dollar.
4. On the 1st of October 2025, Côte d’Ivoire announced a new producer price, 20% above that of Ghana. This decision by the Ivorians, coupled with movements in the exchange rate resulted in significant difference in the producer price of cocoa between Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
5. This price difference had the potential to trigger significant smuggling of Ghana’s cocoa to Côte d’Ivoire.
5. As a result, the Producer Price Review Committee (PPRC) adjusted the producer price to GH¢58,000 per tonne to reflect an exchange rate of 11.5 cedis to the US dollar at the time.
6. The decision by the PPRC to increase the producer price of cocoa made Ghana’s farmgate price competitive and stemmed the potential smuggling of Ghana’s crop.
7. From October 2025, the World Market Price of cocoa started dropping. While the price was declining, COCOBOD continued to sell the beans until the price went below US$6,400 per tonne, which is the cost of cocoa from the farmer to the port”.