In order to ensure that buyers of cocoa pay an extra $400 per tonne for cocoa beans, the Ghana COCOBOD and their European Cocoa Buyers have negotiated an economic arrangement.
The accord comes after a crucial meeting between representatives of Ghana's cocoa regulator and significant European cocoa purchasers on worries about discrepancies in cocoa price.
Fiifi Boafo, Head of Public Affairs at COCOBOD, reaffirmed this to Joy Business and stressed that the goal is to safeguard the interests of cocoa growers.
"To safeguard the farmer income, which for cocoa growers amounts to a Living Income Differential (LID) of $400 per tonne, all partners in the value chain signed an economic agreement. It provided us with the opportunity to examine the primary determinants influencing farmer earnings, particularly during the cocoa boom.
According to Fiifi Boafo, "This agreement is to make sure we don't have the circumstance where the additional payment of LID is not discounted, and it was widely welcomed."
This economic agreement comes in response to prior allegations made by COCOBOD's chief executive officer, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, against European firms that purchase cocoa beans from Ghana and the Ivory Coast with the intention of constantly maintaining lower cocoa bean prices globally.
He claims that discriminatory pricing policies imposed by European nations have worsened the situation of cocoa growers in the two countries.
Major players in the cocoa value chain who purchase cocoa beans from both Ghana and Ivory Coast have been urged to boost their purchases by the Ghana COCOBOD and its Ivorian equivalent. Even though Ghana and the Ivory Coast produce the highest-quality cocoa beans in the world, COCOBOD claims that the excellent quality of the beans is not taken into account when the price is increased.
For instance, he said that an effort to do rid of premium prices on cocoa is disappointing because it would lead farmers from the two nations to grow beans of poorer quality in the area.
"We think that Ghana and the Ivory Coast have a unique quality, and throughout the years, industry has paid a premium for it. It is quite depressing to learn that the premium is currently being lowered. As a result, the industry is advising us to advise our farmers once premiums are decreased.
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