Review Cocoa Producer Prices in Ghana -NPP

The New Patriotic Party congratulates the investigative journalists who so courageously captured

on video the smuggling of cocoa and other commodities across our borders. This display of

commitment to duty is worthy of emulation by all.

We hope government would take steps to punish the perpetrators (both the smugglers and

corrupt officials) to signal a lesson to others that such wrongs would not go unpunished. Also, a

swift handling of this matter could help correct public suspicion that some senior people in

government have a hand in the smuggling activities at our borders.

The New Patriotic Party takes the view that border patrol is an insufficient policy to contain cocoa

smuggling. Parity of cocoa producer prices across our borders (especially with Cote D’Ivoire) is a

far more effective and less expensive strategy to control cocoa smuggling. Unfortunately, this

policy of offering Ghanaian farmers the same producer price as offered in neighbouring

countries, which was successfully used by the previous NPP government, was abandoned by the

NDC when it came into office.

The NPP did advise government on the 8th of October 2009 that the huge price difference

between producer prices of cocoa in Ghana and our neighbouring countries was an invitation to

smuggling. That advice was not taken.

The assumption by the NDC government that, by offering low producer price to Ghanaian

farmers and selling the same cocoa at high prices on the international market, it can reap a lot of

revenue is naive. The amount of cocoa smuggled when such price difference exists across our

borders causes far more loss of revenue to the state than the additional revenue we get by

paying lower prices to our farmers. Besides, why should government want to out-smart or cheat

our poor cocoa farmers?

Currently, a 64kg bag of cocoa is purchased at 64,000 CFA, the equivalent of GH¢213 from

Ivorian farmers. The same 64kg bag is purchased at GH¢150 by Ghana government from our

farmers. Cote D’Ivoire is paying 42% more to its farmers. This is the cause of the smuggling.

Government must review cocoa producer price for Ghanaian farmers without further delay.

Kwaku Kwarteng

Communications Director

NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY

Headquarters, Private Mail Bag, Accra-North, Ghana

Tel: +233 21 227 737 / 229 030 / 228 104 Fax: +233 21 229 048

Email: npp@africaonline.com.gh

NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY

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