By Florence Afriyie Mensah
Kumasi, Sept. 06, GNA – The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, announce the opening of the 2024/2025 crop season and new farm-gate prices for cocoa.
Mr. Joseph Boahen Aidoo, Chief Executive of COCOBOD, who announced this, said the Producer Price Review Committee was about to conclude its work and the new price for the season would be made public very soon.
The observation by COCOBOD, according to Mr. Boahen Aidoo was that, there had been an early crop harvest, and this had necessitated plans to announce the new crop season and the producer price.
Mr Aidoo made this known during a meeting of the management of COCOBOD and leaders of cocoa farmer co-operatives and groups in Kumasi, on Friday.
The Chief Executive said although there had been emerging issues ranging from cocoa pricing to funds mobilizing for cocoa purchases, management was doing its best to address all concerns and secure syndicated loans to purchase the beans.
He expressed worry at the increasing rate in trade of smuggled cocoa beans from Ghana to neighbouring countries and called on the farmers to help reduce such negative acts.
Mr. Boahen Aidoo mentioned that farmers’ welfare was the government’s priority, hence a boost in farm-gate price could bolster income generation.
In the 2023/2024 crop season, the government increased the farm gate price of cocoa by more than 58 percent, to GH₵33,120.000 per metric tonne.
GNA