Cocoa farmers in Ghana, the world’s second-largest producer, are holding back their beans in anticipation of higher prices, industry sources informed media potentially limiting supplies to a global cocoa market eager to recover from last season’s poor harvests.
While the extent of up-country bean stockpiling is unclear, a dozen farmers, buyers, and officials from the state regulator Cocobod confirmed the trend, with some attributing it to a slowdown in bean purchases.
“I have more than 300 bags, but I won’t sell,” said a cocoa farmer from south-central Ghana, who wished to remain anonymous. “I’ll only sell after Christmas. We want to see if they will raise the price as promised.”
The sources all noted that farmers are responding to comments made by Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, who told supporters of the ruling New Patriotic Party four weeks ago that the government would increase prices for farmers.
Bawumia, who is standing for the presidency in the 7 December elections, made these remarks in Sefwi Wiawso in southwestern Ghana, one of the country’s major cocoa-growing areas. He has since said his comments were misunderstood.
According to Cocobod officials, Ghana lost over a third of its 2023/24 cocoa output to smuggling, adding to problems that led to more than a two-decade low in production and contributed to record-high global cocoa prices.
In an effort to improve farmer incomes and curb smuggling, Ghana raised the fixed farmgate price by nearly 45% to 48,000 cedis—just under $3,000—per metric tonne for the 2024/25 season, which began in September.
However, neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s largest cocoa producer, increased its price to 1,800 CFA francs ($3.00) per kilogramme, just slightly higher than Ghana’s.
