COCOBOD will collapse if price of cocoa is increased - MP warns

The Chairman of the Government Assurance Committee and member of the Agric Committee in Parliament, Mr Yaw Frimpong Addo, has suggested an increment in cocoa prices would collapse Ghana COCOBOD.

He was speaking to Kwame Tutu on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm over the concerns raised by some cocoa farmers following the decision by COCOBOD to maintain the price of cocoa today [Tuesday].

The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has announced that the Producer Price of cocoa for the 2018/2019 cocoa season will remain at GHC 475 per 65kg bag despite the drastic fall in the commodity’s price on the international market.

Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo disclosed this at the 2018 Cocoa Day grand durbar on Monday, October 1, 2018. But some farmers are worried that the prices were maintained instead of an increment. Responding to these concerns, the MP for Manso Adubea said, government does not determine the commodity price on the market. The price on the world market he lamented has dropped drastically.

However, government decided to maintain the price instead of reducing it. According to him, price of cocoa was GHC 728.38 per bag in 2016/2017 whiles the producer price at that time was GHC 475 per bag. Even though the FOB (World Market) price dropped GHC 527 per bag in 2017/2018, the Akufo-Addo government decided to maintain the same producer price of Ghana.’’

He added: ‘‘any attempt to increase the price of cocoa will collapse COCOBOD. It will collapse COCOBOD because we have to subsidise. Already, they have subsidised for years. There is nothing anybody can do about it.

COCOBOD has done extremely well considering the prices of other countries.’’ He slammed the Minority for capitalising on the issue and politicising it instead of addressing the core issues. He described it as immoral politics.

He has also assured framers the committee will impress upon COCOBOD to increase the price should the agreement between Ghana and Ivory Coast goes through successfully. The Strategic Partnership Agreement binds the two countries in even closer intimacy and demands that they work together to enhance their chances of attaining progress and prosperity.

The Abidjan Declaration – which is devoted to the cocoa economy – seeks to pursue a common strategy and a sustainable solution for the improvement of prices for cocoa producers in the two countries. On Production and Research, the two neighbouring countries agreed to forge closer collaboration between Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG), and National Centre of Agronomic Research (CNRA) in Cote d’Ivoire; agreed to work together towards the adoption of good practices for adaptation and mitigation of the adverse effects of climate change based on experiences of the two countries. The two countries are responsible for 60% of the world’s cocoa output.