Chairman of Parliament’s Economic and Development Committee and MP for Amenfi West, Eric Afful, has defended the government’s decision to raise the cocoa producer price for the 2025/2026 season, describing it as a significant boost to farmers’ livelihoods despite opposition criticism.

His remarks come in response to backlash from the Minority in Parliament following the announcement of a new producer price of $5,040 per tonne, a 62.58% increase from the previous rate of $3,100. The opposition caucus dismissed the increase as “ridiculous, unfair, and completely unacceptable,” warning it could push farmers toward illegal mining and worsen Ghana’s galamsey crisis.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, Mr. Afful rejected those concerns, stating that cocoa farmers are now in a stronger financial position due to the appreciation of the Cedi and a general decline in inflation.

“With the Cedi appreciating and prices of goods and services going down, a bag of cocoa priced at Ghc3,228.75 gives farmers greater purchasing power than in 2024,” he said. “Simply put, the farmer is not worse off — the farmer is better off.”

He explained that the producer price was calculated using a Ghc10 to $1 exchange rate, which offers more value compared to a hypothetical rate of Ghc16 to $1. At Ghc16, he noted, the same dollar value would have translated into a much higher but less meaningful Cedi figure for farmers due to inflationary pressures.

Mr. Afful also drew comparisons with the previous administration’s pricing policies. He pointed out that in the 2024/2025 season, the Free-on-Board (FOB) value was $4,850 per tonne, but cocoa farmers received only $3,100 — representing just 63.9% of the FOB, despite relatively favourable global prices at the time.

According to government sources, the current FOB pricing model is based on outstanding contracts for 100,000 tonnes sold at $2,600 per tonne during the 2023/2024 crop season, as well as forward market projections for the 2025/2026 period.

The ongoing debate over cocoa pricing comes amid global concerns about ensuring fair compensation for smallholder cocoa farmers, who remain central to Ghana’s agricultural economy and export earnings.