Ghana produces second highest cocoa in 31 years

Cocoa farmers produced 496,793 tonnes of cocoa to earn 889,711,486 dollars for Ghana during the main 2002 / 2003 crop season that ended on September 30, 2003.

The amount realized is the highest Free On Board (FOB) value ever achieved by the Cocoa Sector and the second highest production of cocoa in Ghana; the highest was during the 1964 / 65 cocoa season when about 580,869 tonnes was produced.

A statement issued in Accra on Tuesday and signed by Mr Kwame Sarpong, Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), said the production level had enabled Ghana to regain its position as the second largest producer of cocoa in the world.

It said close to this FOB achievement were 797,948,277 dollars received during the 1978 / 79 and 875,218,080 dollars in 1979 / 80 cocoa years.

The statement said the normal FOB receipts for most years had ranged between 300 million dollars and 400 million dollars. 23 Dec.03