Member of Parliament representing the Asunafo South constituency, Eric Opoku, has strongly criticized the government's decision to implement a 58 percent increase in the producer price for cocoa beans, labeling it as a blatant exploitation.

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Expressing his bewilderment, Opoku questioned the rationale behind the government's strategy of dividing the world market price into four parts, retaining three for itself and allocating only one portion to the cocoa farmers, who are the primary producers of this vital commodity.

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During an appearance on Citi TV's Point of View program, Opoku emphasized that no previous administration in Ghana's history had ever allocated less than 40 percent of the world market price to cocoa farmers prior to the decision made by the Akufo-Addo-led government.

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“The argument we are canvassing is that, in the history of cocoa in Ghana, no government has ever given cocoa farmers less than 40% of the world market price, it has never happened. Because COCOBOD is not the producer of the cocoa, it’s just the regulator of the sector," the MP for Asunafo South said.He added that, “The producers are there.

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Why should the government divide the world market price into four, take three and then give one to the cocoa farmers? What’s the rationale behind it? It’s a complete rip-off and it has never happened in the history of cocoa.”The price of cocoa beans saw a significant hike, climbing from GH¢20,928 per tonne to GH¢33,120.00 for the remainder of the 2023/2024 cocoa season.

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COCOBOD stated that the increase aimed to bolster the income of cocoa farmers while simultaneously discouraging the illicit smuggling of cocoa beans to neighboring countries.This adjustment in pricing came into force on Friday, April 5, 2024.

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