The General Agricultural Workers’ Union (GAWU) is against suggestions that government reviews downwards the producer price for cocoa to offset any drop in revenue from the cash crop.

The union says it fears any such move will have terrible implications for the cocoa sector and distort economic plans for the year.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has cautioned the country with regards further drop in the price of cocoa on the international market.

The EIU has also warned the country to guard itself from potential smuggling of cocoa from neighbouring country Ivory Coast due to a favourable price for cocoa farmers in Ghana.

Such reasons are viewed by some as basis to reduce the producer price for cocoa from the current 7,600 cedis.

But the Edward Kareweh , General Secretary of GAWU, has explained that yielding to the appeal will be unfortunate for the cocoa sub sector.

“It will be disastrous for government to attempt to make a review this time…we should wait till the end of the year and if things have not changed, then in that case government can come with the facts to the table and what is happening at the global level.”

Mr. Kareweh further said, “Then the farmers including all stakeholders will see the reality and I think that they will reason with the government and come out with a decision that will be in the best interest of the farmers and the country and I think it will be acceptable to the farmers themselves and the stakeholders.”

The EIU are of the opinion that cocoa production may drop due to challenges associated with old cocoa trees in the country.

COCOBOD is howevwer targeting about 700,000 tonnes of cocoa production in the 2017/2018 season.

The price of cocoa has gone down by a landslide from 3000 dollars per tonne to about 1900 dollars by the end of last year.

Moreover, Ghana is said to be losing at least 1 billion dollars every year as a result of the declining prices of cocoa on the international market.

In all these however, Mr Kareweh maintains government’s efforts must be lauded to cushion farmers from global trade imbalances.

“For now I think the government has done enough to insulate the farmers from the global declining prices…I think that we should encourage government to do things like these and not subject our producers and Ghanaians to the dictates of the global market and trading system,” he indicated.

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Ghanaguardian.com