Ghana has reduced the price it pays cocoa farmers to $3,580 per metric tonne for the rest of the 2025–2026 season. The government says this cut is necessary because world cocoa prices have fallen sharply.
Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson explained that global cocoa prices are now about $4,000 per tonne, which is almost half of what they were a year ago. However, Ghana had been paying farmers close to $5,300 per tonne, much higher than the world market price. Officials say this made Ghana’s cocoa too expensive, and many international buyers decided to purchase from other countries instead.
Ghana is the world’s second-largest cocoa producer. When buyers stopped purchasing large amounts of Ghanaian cocoa, many beans remained unsold. This created serious money problems in the sector. Farmers experienced delays in receiving their payments. Many farmers expressed difficulty covering their food, school fees, and farm expenses due to delayed payments.
To fix this, the government has ordered the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to quickly pay farmers the money they are still owed. Officials also announced a new way of raising money for the cocoa sector. Instead of depending heavily on foreign loans, COCOBOD will issue cocoa bonds inside the country. The money to repay these bonds will come from cocoa sales during the same season.
The government also plans to introduce a law to link the price paid to farmers with international cocoa prices. At the same time, officials promise that farmers will receive at least 70 per cent of the Free on Board (FOB) price.
Some farmer groups say they will accept lower prices in the future if the government clears all outstanding payments quickly. Ghana also wants to process more cocoa locally, increasing domestic processing to at least 50 percent by the 2026–2027 season.
