Finance Minister debunks claims on cocoa price

The Minister of Finance on Thursday debunked claims that the lower producer price of cocoa in Ghana compared to neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire would encourage massive smuggling of the beans to that country.

Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the difference was rather minimal saying, it was "something that would not cause any problem since it was not actually how much the farmer get for the beans but rather the promptness of payment which is always guaranteed in Ghana."

He asked Ghanaian cocoa farmers to look at how promptly they would be paid rather than the little extra money they might make. "Besides smuggling is a criminal offence and anyone caught in the act will not be spared."

A ton of cocoa currently sells at about seven million cedis in Cote d'Ivoire while Ghana recently increased the same quantity from 4.6 million cedis to 6.2 million cedis. It is on record that Ghana loses about 10 per cent of cocoa produced to smuggling activities, most of which ends up on the Ivorian market.

Commenting on why the government did not increase the price to the level paid by Cote d'Ivoire, the Finance Minister said: "We must look at the price change within the micro and macro economic dynamics and its impact on the national economy."

He refuted claims that the increase in the cocoa price was at the instance of the World Bank. "It is rather ridiculous that a body outside our own system should be telling government what it should do for its own farmers."

He said the Ghana Standards Board would soon begin sporadic checks on scales used by all the 20 listed Licensed Buying Companies to ensure that farmers got paid for the actual weight of cocoa delivered. The Finance Minister also said steps had been put in place to ensure prompt payment of the new price and evacuation of the beans.