Cocoa production will not exceed 500,000 metric tonnes in the 2023/2024 crop season due to the swollen-shoot disease, the World Bank has disclosed in its 8th Ghana Economic Update.
In the 2022/2023 crop season, cocoa production fell to around 670,000 tons last season.
The World Bank said the price surged from $2.39 per kilogram in 2022 to a record high of $5.56 per kilogramme in February 2024, the rollover of the presale contracts for the unmet volume over the past two seasons makes it challenging for COCOBOD to pre-sell production for future seasons.
Moreover, COCOBOD has accumulated large losses in the past years due to the high rollover cost of outstanding cocoa bills, high operational costs, fertilizer provision, and rural roads development.
Ghana registered a record over one million metric tonnes of cocoa production in the 2020/2021 crop season.
Meanwhile, Reuters earlier reported that Ghanaian cocoa farmers expect a boost in the 2024/2025 season starting in October 2024 after a sharp fall in production this season contributed to boosting global cocoa prices to record levels.
Ghana’s poorest harvests in a decade this season is attributed to harsh weather conditions resulting from El Nino, rampant smuggling and swollen shoot disease.
An increase in production would not only help Ghana’s finances, but also the global chocolate industry that has been grappling with tight supply.