• The female cocoa chief advocates for a price of 4,500–5,000 cedis per sack compared to COCOBOD’s 3,100 price.

• Farmers worldwide are pushing for a threshold of 6,000–7,000 cedis but are limited by the forward contract sale system.

• President Mahama’s promise to allocate 70% of the global price to farmers faces challenges related to funding, supply, and currency exchange.

 Ernestina Osei-Tutu, who is President of the Eastern Women Cocoa Farmers’ Cooperative, appeared on the July 29, 2025, episode of “My Cocoa Life TV” to set out a firm expectation for the upcoming season's pricing. She advocated for a price range of 4,500 to 5,000 cedis per 64-kilogram sack, which converts to about 428 to 476 US dollars based on current exchange rates. Addressing key decision-makers directly, she emphasized that any figure below this minimum threshold would cause farmers to incur losses from the outset, even before harvesting their first cocoa pods.

The basis for her urgent appeal originates from the price announced by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) in October for the 2024/25 season: 3,100 cedis per bag, which is equivalent to 49,600 cedis per tonne. Earlier this month, sources close to the regulator, as reported by Bloomberg, suggested the board is contemplating a modest increase of 6.5 per cent, raising the price to approximately 3,300 cedis (around 314 dollars) per bag, still notably below the level that farmers consider vital for their sustainability.

This notable discrepancy has led the Ghana National Cocoa Farmers Association, in partnership with minority representatives from Parliament’s Food, Agriculture, and Cocoa Affairs Committee, to strongly advocate for a price ranging from 6,000 to 7,000 cedis per bag. Their argument is based on the current pricing system, which relies heavily on forward contracts set long before shipments, limiting farmers' ability to benefit from higher premiums that cocoa may receive on the international market during times of increased demand or supply shortages.

Momentum from political circles is also growing. During a rally in July 2025, President John Dramani Mahama announced that, starting with the 2025/26 primary crop season, cocoa farmers would be assured of at least 70 percent of the current world market price. While this declaration has generated optimism among growers, neither COCOBOD nor the Ministry of Finance has yet published details on the specific framework or methodology that will implement this pledge and translate it into actual payments for farmers.

Financial restrictions continue to be a major challenge. For this season, COCOBOD's longstanding practice of securing a pre-export syndicated loan did not materialize, leaving the board without the affordable US dollar funding it normally depends on to make timely payments to farmers. Without this external credit facility, raising the farmgate price significantly would require drawing from already overstretched local fiscal resources, potentially putting additional pressure on the national budget.

Lastly, the overall supply dynamics add further complexity and pressure. Projections for the current 2024/25 harvest now stand at about 600,000 tonnes, representing a shortfall of roughly 50,000 tonnes compared to the initial estimates given at the season's start. Although this decreased output contributed to a significant spike in global prices towards the end of last year, the upward trend has since eased; New York cocoa futures have fallen by around 13 percent from their levels a year ago, and a stronger cedi has further dampened the local price impact of any remaining premium, while inflation remains broadly high in the country

Initially written in French by Espoir Olodo

Adapted and edited in English by Idriss Linge