Due to less favorable weather conditions and the advent of swollen shoot disease, cocoa production for the 2021/22 cocoa season is expected to drop by one-third.
The worldwide cocoa market will slip into a deficit of 181,000MT in 2021/22 from a surplus of 215,000MT in 2020/21, according to the International Cocoa Organisation's (ICCO) monthly report for April 2022. From a record 5.226 MMT in 2020/21, global cocoa production will drop by 5.2 percent to 4.955 MMT in 2021/22.
"Based on available crop sizes in West Africa's key cocoa origin nations, the 2021/22 cocoa season is expected to have a global deficit of around 181,000 tonnes, owing mostly to a shortfall in Ghanaian output."
Indeed, less favorable weather circumstances and the onset of swelling shoot disease are the primary causes of production loss, according to the research.
According to Reuters reports from April, adverse weather conditions caused by the harmattan winds are anticipated to cut cocoa output in Ghana by at least 31% in 2021/22 compared to the previous season. It also stated that the country's overall production is not expected to surpass 710,000-720,000 tonnes this year, owing to a climate that has been disastrous for cocoa cultivation.
As a result, the swollen shoot disease pandemic might exacerbate the already dire situation. Swollen Shoot Syndrome
In the Bono Region's Dormaa Central Municipality, 43,281 cocoa trees infected by the swollen shoot disease were killed on 106.58 hectares of farmland in late 2021. The decision was made ahead of time to prevent the sickness from spreading further.
According to COCOBOD, 20 percent of the country's cocoa plants are infected with this disease.
The National Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme has rehabilitated cocoa estates in the country's Western North Region (NCRP). Swollen shoot disease has struck these areas, wreaking havoc on the country's main crop.
So far, the initiative has repaired around 11% of the region's cocoa fields, or 51,537 hectares out of 487,386. The NCRP was initiated by COCOBOD in 2017 with funding from the African Development Bank (AFDB) with the goal of treating virus-affected farms and replacing diseased cocoa plants with disease-tolerant and early-bearing, high-yielding types.
Compensation will be granted to participating farmers and landowners for up to two years following the planted as part of the scheme.
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