Cocoa

Ghana’s Cocoa Farmers Lament Low Earnings Amid High Prices
24 Apr

Ghana’s Cocoa Farmers Lament Low Earnings Amid High Prices

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Though global cocoa prices have soared to a record high in April, farmers in Ghana are struggling to make ends meet. The government's local pricing system has left many cocoa farmers frustrated and hopeless. In the Afigya Kwabre district of Ghana's Ashanti region, people like Kingsley Owusu are known for growing Ghana's leading cash crop. Owusu and his community have been growing cocoa beans for over 30 years. For many years, the cocoa harvest allowed him to take care of his children, who have all grown to adulthood. But now, at the age of 60, Owusu is worried about his…
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COCOBOD Confirms Plans To Increase Cocoa Farmgate Prices
04 Apr

COCOBOD Confirms Plans To Increase Cocoa Farmgate Prices

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The Ghana COCOBOD has told Joy Business government is considering an increase in the farmgate prices of cocoa beans for farmers. The decision, which is currently being deliberated upon by stakeholders in the cocoa sector is targeted at improving farmers’ wellbeing, as well as reduce illegal movement of cocoa beans to neighboring countries. The reason for this move, according to COCOBOD is to help stop smuggling to neighboring countries, particularly Ivory Coast which has announced a 100 percent increase in farmgate prices, following a surge in global prices of the commodity. Already, Bloomberg is predicting government may announce above 50 percent increase…
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Ivory Coast To Raise Cocoa Farmgate Price By 50%
02 Apr

Ivory Coast To Raise Cocoa Farmgate Price By 50%

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Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara will increase the official cocoa farmgate price to 1,500 CFA francs ($2.47) per kg from Tuesday, April 2, from the current 1,000 CFA, sources at five different export companies said. The sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said they were citing a decision at a government meeting on Saturday. Earlier in the day, Ouattara had validated a proposal for a price of between 1,100 and 1,200 CFA francs per kg before reversing his decision and asking that the price be even higher, the sources said The government and the cocoa…
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Ghana’s Gross Reserves Surge By 9.9% To $4.06 Billion In Early 2024
25 Mar

Ghana’s Gross Reserves Surge By 9.9% To $4.06 Billion In Early 2024

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In the initial two months of 2024, Ghana's Gross International Reserves (GIR), excluding Encumbered Assets and Petroleum Fund, experienced a notable 9.99% increase, reaching $4.02 billion by February 2024. This amount is equivalent to providing a cover for 1.8 months of imports. Throughout this period, the country's reserves showed consistent growth, with a slight decline noted in February 2024 from the peak of $4.17 billion recorded in January 2024, compared to December 2023's $3.66 billion. According to the Bank of Ghana's March 2024 Economic and Financial Data Summary, Ghana's trade surplus in February 2024 amounted to $392.8 million, representing 0.5%…
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Commodity Prices To Broadly Stabilise In 2024, But Cocoa, Coffee Prices To Increase – EIU
31 Jan

Commodity Prices To Broadly Stabilise In 2024, But Cocoa, Coffee Prices To Increase – EIU

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After three years of extreme volatility, commodities prices are set to broadly stabilise in 2024. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit Commodities Outlook 2024, this apparent stasis may come as a surprise given the many geopolitical headwinds buffeting the global economy at the moment. These range from adverse weather conditions to escalating conflict in the Middle East and rocketing freight rates owing to disrupted shipping routes through the Suez and Panama canals. However, it said this holding pattern for commodities prices in 2024 belies what will be an eventful year as markets remain volatile in the short term before secular…
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Cocoa Shortage Forces Shutdown Of Ghana Cocoa Processors
24 Jan

Cocoa Shortage Forces Shutdown Of Ghana Cocoa Processors

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Some cocoa processors in Ghana are said to have halted operations due to an acute shortage of cocoa beans, Cocoa Post has disclosed. According to the report, a source close to the matter told the news online portal that some grinders in the country have not received cocoa bean allocations in months. “The situation is terrible, no beans available,” the source said, adding that “[I] haven’t seen anything like this for very long.” The prevailing circumstance, they said, has compelled some grinders to temporarily shut down processing plants until a resumption of regular supply of cocoa beans. Our independent checks revealed…
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Syndicated Loan Drag, Ghana Borrows Up To $200 Million From Cocoa Traders To Plug Funding Gap
08 Nov

Syndicated Loan Drag, Ghana Borrows Up To $200 Million From Cocoa Traders To Plug Funding Gap

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Ghana’s Cocobod is facing delays in securing its usual syndicated loans and has opted to borrow between $150 million to $200 million from cocoa traders to partially finance bean purchases for the 2023/24 season. Fiifi Boafo, the regulator’s public affairs manager, informed Reuters that the challenges in obtaining loans from banks led Cocobod to explore alternative sources, such as loans from cocoa traders. Traditionally, every September, Cocobod, the industry regulator of the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, secures an international syndicated loan to support licensed buyers in purchasing cocoa from smallholder farmers for export. For the current season, Cocobod had initially…
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Ivory Coast In Fresh Stand-Off With Cocoa Buyers Over Premium
27 Oct

Ivory Coast In Fresh Stand-Off With Cocoa Buyers Over Premium

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Ivory Coast is struggling to sell cocoa export contracts for the 2024/25 season with multinational companies demanding it lower prices, which are elevated due to a supply squeeze, the head of the country's cocoa regulator said on Wednesday. Ivory Coast is the world's top producer of cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate. Along with neighbouring Ghana, it produces about two-thirds of the world's supply. The country expects a 25% drop from last year in cocoa arrivals for the current October-to-March main crop due to poor weather conditions, said Yves Brahima Kone, director general of the Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC).…
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World Cocoa Price Soars To Highest In 44 Years
24 Oct

World Cocoa Price Soars To Highest In 44 Years

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Cocoa surged to the highest level in 44 years as global shortages boost costs for chocolate makers. Futures traded in New York jumped as much as 2.5% to the highest for a most-active contract since 1979. Behind the gains are forecasts for poor crops in top growers Ivory Coast and Ghana just as demand is signaling an improvement. “The supply and demand situation remains bullish,” Jack Scoville, a vice president for Price Futures Group in Chicago, said in a report. Cocoa for December delivery surged to $3,786 a metric ton in New York, the highest since January 1979. The price…
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Ivory Coast Sets 2023/24 Cocoa Farmgate Price At 1,000 FCFA
02 Oct

Ivory Coast Sets 2023/24 Cocoa Farmgate Price At 1,000 FCFA

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Ivory Coast has increased its cocoa farmgate price by 11.1% from 900FCFA to 1,000FCFA ($1.62) per kilogram for the 2023/24 crop season. The minister for agriculture and rural development, Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani, also announced the new farmgate price for coffee as 900 CFA francs/kg, representing a 20% raise. Ivory Coast, the world’s leading producer of cocoa beans faces a 20% drop in production in the wake of bad weather and disease. Production for the just-ended 2022/23 season is expected to total about 1.8 million metric tons, down from an average of about 2.25 million tons annually in recent years. But…
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