BY Issah Olegor
A fresh political debate has emerged over the cocoa pricing system, with former Deputy Finance Minister Dr Alex Ampaabeng challenging attempts to present the current pricing framework as an entirely new policy introduced by the present administration.
In a statement, Dr Ampaabeng argued that the rules underpinning the current system were developed before the 2024 general elections as part of reforms aimed at addressing the long-standing financial difficulties of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
He maintained that the framework should therefore be viewed within the broader history of cocoa-sector reforms rather than attributed solely to the government currently implementing it.
The International Monetary Fund’s programme documents support part of that historical account.
The IMF reported that Ghana’s COCOBOD turnaround strategy was published in October 2024 and included a framework for setting producer prices at between 60 and 70 per cent of international cocoa prices, inclusive of the Living Income Differential (LID). The stated objective was to balance farmers’ share of export proceeds with COCOBOD’s operational and financial requirements.
The reform process itself predates the publication of the final turnaround strategy. In the IMF’s 2023 programme documents, the Ghanaian authorities committed to developing a legally binding producer-price framework that would provide sufficient revenue for farmers while ensuring that COCOBOD could recover its operational and financial costs.
The COCOBOD Turnaround Strategy subsequently set out the principle of balancing farmer incomes with the financial viability of the institution. The strategy stated that producer pricing had to provide appreciable incomes for farmers without undermining the ability of COCOBOD and other participants in the domestic supply chain to remain financially viable.
Dr Ampaabeng’s argument also centres on the claim that Ghanaian cocoa farmers had received substantial shares of the FOB value before the current administration.
He specifically cited the 2021/22 cocoa season, when the government maintained the producer price at GH¢10,560 per tonne, equivalent to GH¢660 per 64kg bag.
Official records from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and COCOBOD show that the GH¢10,560 per tonne price was stated to represent 87.15 per cent of the FOB value at the time.
The government said the decision was taken despite a decline in international cocoa prices and the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That historical record provides an important context to the present argument over the significance of the 70 per cent threshold. While the current framework provides for producer prices within a specified relationship to international prices, Ghana had previously set producer prices that, in particular seasons, represented a higher proportion of FOB value.
The current administration has since built further reforms around the pricing principle. In February 2026, COCOBOD announced plans for an automatic adjustment mechanism linking producer prices to movements in world cocoa prices, exchange rates and other variables, while guaranteeing farmers a minimum of 70 per cent of gross FOB.
The IMF’s latest assessment also describes the automatic pricing mechanism and a legally guaranteed 70 per cent producer-price floor as part of the reforms being implemented to restore COCOBOD’s financial sustainability.
The issue has become particularly significant following the sharp deterioration in the cocoa market during the 2025/26 season.
According to the IMF, international cocoa prices fell sharply, creating severe liquidity pressures for COCOBOD and contributing to the government’s decision in February 2026 to reduce the farm-gate price to GH¢41,392 per tonne, equivalent to GH¢2,587 per 64kg bag. The IMF said the adjustment was intended to bring producer prices more closely into line with prevailing world prices and help stabilise COCOBOD’s finances.
Against that background, the debate over the latest pricing arrangements is no longer simply about the percentage of FOB value going to farmers. It also concerns the origins of the formula, the financial condition of COCOBOD, the sustainability of farmer incomes and the policy choices made by successive governments.
Dr Ampaabeng therefore argues that political discussions about the current cocoa price should acknowledge the contribution of the previous administration to the development and institutionalisation of the framework.
His broader point is that cocoa-sector reforms have evolved over several administrations, with successive governments making different interventions in response to international prices, farmer incomes, COCOBOD’s finances and the wider sustainability of the industry.
The historical record shows that the principle of linking cocoa producer prices to a share of international or FOB values did not begin with the current administration. COCOBOD itself explained in 2021 that Ghana had a policy of guaranteeing farmers a price equivalent to not less than 70 per cent of the FOB price, while the 2021/22 price ultimately represented 87.15 per cent of FOB.
