Bawumia’s claim that Ghana’s cocoa price is highest in West Africa false

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Vice-President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has said that Ghana’s cocoa producer price of GH¢2,070 per bag is the highest in West Africa.

Dr. Bawumia, who is contesting the 2024 Elections on the ticket of the governing NPP, made the claim during a meeting with the Western North Regional House of Chiefs on May 3, 2024, as part of his campaign tour of the region.

He argued that the NPP government led by President Nana Akufo-Addo has done a lot to improve the living conditions of cocoa farmers and cited the recent increase in producer prices of the commodity as one such government action that has left farmers better off.

Fact-Check Ghana has verified the claim and presents the facts below.

Claim: “You also know that the president has done well in improving the welfare of cocoa farmers. As far as the cocoa prices are concerned, today, it is 2,070 per bag, the highest in West Africa”.

Verdict: Completely false

Aside from Ghana and Coté D’Ivoire who are leading worldwide in terms of cocoa production, other countries like Nigeria, Togo and Liberia are also known cocoa producers.

In fact, Nigeria, according to Bloomberg, is the fifth largest grower of cocoa globally.

To verify the Vice-President’s claim, Fact-check Ghana checked the producer/farm gate prices of the commodity in some West African countries and compared same with that in Ghana.

The table below summarizes producer prices of cocoa in 5 African countries

Country	Price per kilogram (in US$)
Cote D’Ivore	2.45
Ghana	2.36
Nigeria	8.10
Togo	5.52
Liberia	3, 5 and 6

The above prices are converted from the currencies of the various countries using currency converter Oanda.

Producer prices of cocoa for the 2023-2024 season in Coté D’Ivoire

In Coté D’Ivoire, cocoa prices are determined seasonally. Each season runs from October to September of the following year.

For the 2023 – 2024 season, the producer price of the commodity has been increased from 1,000 CFA francs to 1,500 CFA francs.

The Ivorian Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Food Production, Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani, who announced the new price on April 2, 2024, said, “On this basis, the State of Côte d’Ivoire has decided to serve the price to the producer at 1,500 FCFA per kilogram, i.e. 64% of the CIF price of realization”, stressing that “this is a price level never achieved in the history of the cocoa sector in Côte d’Ivoire. It is also the first time that the price of the intermediate campaign is higher than that of the main campaign.”

1,500 CFA francs was equivalent to US$2.45 as of May 3, 2024.

Cocoa prices in Liberia

On March 1, 2024, the Liberia Agricultural Commodity Regulatory Authority (LACRA), the agency responsible for regulating cocoa and other agricultural produce, indicated that the price for Grade A was US$3.30 per kilogram (See here).

But the prices have since shot up, according to the communications director of LACRA, and now selling at US$6 for Grade A, US$5 for Grade B and US$3 for Grade C.

Prices of cocoa in Togo

Producer prices of cocoa in Togo are determined twice a month. The first pricing window spans the 1^st to the 15^th of every month while the second window spans the 16^th to the end of the month.

As at the time Dr. Bawumia made the claim, the Coordination Committee for the Coffee and Cocoa Sectors, the agency that regulates cocoa and coffee prices in Togo, pegged the indicative producer price of the commodity at 3,380 Cfa francs per kilogram (See here).

3,380 CFA francs was equivalent to US$5.52 as of May 3, 2024, according to currency converter, oanda.

The current indicative price of cocoa is 3,915 CFA francs equivalent to US$6.48.

Cocoa prices in Nigeria

Nigeria operates a free cocoa market. As such, prices of the commodity are determined by demand and supply and not by any agency.

Between March and May 10 this year, cocoa traded between N11.2 million and N13 million per tonne at the farm gate, according to multiple reports, which quoted both the National President of Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN), Adeola Adegoke and the national president of Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN), Mufutau Abolarinwa.  (See here, here and here).

N11.2 million was equivalent to US$8,095.47 on May 3, 2024 when Dr. Bawumia made the claim. Given that 1000 kilograms make a tonne, the price per kilogram was 8,095.47 ÷ 1,000 = 8.10.

That is, the price per kilogram of cocoa cost not less than US$8.10 at the time in Nigeria.

Producer price of cocoa for the 2023/2024 crop year in Ghana

COCOBOD, the agency mandated to manage cocoa production and marketing in Ghana, announced an upward review on producer prices of the commodity by 58.26 percent on April 5, 2024.

The new prices, which took effect same day, saw prices at the farm gate rise from GH¢20,928 per tonne to GH¢33,120.00 per tonne.

“This figure translates into GH¢2,070 per bag of 64 kg gross weight,” excerpt of a press release by the agency said.  (See here).

That means a kilogram of cocoa sells for 2,070 ÷ 64 = 32.34.

GH¢32.34 was equivalent to US$2.36 on May 3, 2024.

Conclusion

From the facts adduced, Nigeria has the highest producer price followed by Liberia and Togo.

Ghana’s producer price of US$2.36 is the lowest among the 5 countries.

Therefore, Dr. Bawumia’s claim that Ghana’s producer price of cocoa is the highest in the West African sub-region is completely false.