FACT CHECK: Claims that Ghana's domestic cocoa production surpasses Ivory Coast false

The widely circulated reports on Monday, May 8, 2023 that Ghana has surpassed Ivory Coast in cocoa production over the half year 2022/23 crop season is completely false.

The report cited the latest Cocoa Market Report by the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO).

In an attempt to mislead the Ghanaian public, the reports in the media did not back the claims with comparative data from the ICCO, because that would have obviously discredited the reports.

“As of 31 March 2023, cumulative arrivals of cocoa beans in Ivory Coast were lagging behind previous season levels, while the volume of graded and sealed cocoa beans purchased in Ghana since start of the 2022/23 season was reported at 566,846 tonnes, representing an 18 percent increase from the previous year,” this is how the media compared the two countries omitting figures from Ivory Coast.

Checks by Newstitbits.com have established the fact that whilst production in the neighbouring Ivory Coast went down, that of Ghana increased, but the figures show that Ivory Coast still maintains the enviable position as the largest cocoa producer in the world.

The Cocoa Market Report as published on the website of ICCO pointed out that the cumulative arrivals of cocoa beans was 1.779 million tonnes in Ivory Coast by March 31, 2023, a drop by 89,000 tonnes as compared with same period last year.

The figure, in spite of the drop, is more than double what Ghana produced.

Ghana produced 566,846 tonnes by 9 March 2023, which is an increase of 85,360 tonnes from 481,486 tonnes recorded over the corresponding period during the 2021/22 cocoa year.

This is how the Cocoa Market Report compared production in the two countries:

“Indeed, as at 31 March 2023, cumulative arrivals of cocoa beans in Côte d’Ivoire were seen at 1.779 million tonnes, down by 4.8% (down by 89,000 tonnes) compared to 1.868 million tonnes recorded during the corresponding period of the previous cocoa year.

“In addition, gross exports of cocoa beans from the country during October 2022 – February 2023 were reported at 785,700 tonnes, down year-on-year by 1.5% compared to 797,525 tonnes.

“In turn, the quantity of graded and sealed cocoa beans purchased in Ghana since the start of the 2022/23 season was reported at 566,846 tonnes by 9 March 2023, representing a robust 18% increase (up by 85,360 tonnes) from 481,486 tonnes recorded over the corresponding period during the 2021/22 cocoa year.”

The Cocoa Market Report further noted:

“The year-on-year reduction of 89,000 tonnes in Côte d’Ivoire cumulative ports’ arrivals of cocoa beans over the first half of the 2022/23 cocoa year combined with the increase of 85,360 tonnes over the same period in Ghanaian purchases of graded and sealed cocoa beans results in a slightly negative net effect i.e. a year-on-year decrease in the supply of cocoa beans from Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana taken together.

“Indeed, based on the latest available information, the total supplies of cocoa beans from the two-top world cocoa producers over the first half of 2022/23 is estimated at 2,345,846 tonnes, slightly down by 0.2% compared to 2,349,486 tonnes recorded at the same period of the previous season. It is however worth mentioning that the current state of play is subject to change as the mid-crop progresses.”

Click here for the Cocoa Market Report latest document

Meanwhile, data from Statista, a leading provider of market and consumer data, confirms that production in Ivory Coast is far ahead of Ghana.



About 70 percent of the world’s cocoa beans come from four West African countries: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon. The Ivory Coast and Ghana are by far the two largest producers of cocoa, accounting for more than 50 percent of the world´s cocoa. In 2021, the Ivory Coast alone produced approximately 2.1 million metric tons of cocoa beans.