The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has downplayed President Akufo-Addo’s recent announcement of GH¢1,308 producer price per bag of cocoa.
According to the NDC, the price increment should not have been less than GH¢2,500.
Ajumako Enyan Assiam Member of Parliament (MP) Dr Cassiel Ato Forson made these remarks at a conference with cocoa farmers at Dadiesoaba in the Ahafo Region.
Akufo-Addo over the weekend highlighted the difficulties experienced by cocoa producers due to low worldwide prices, which have been made worse by the COVID-19 outbreak, at a gathering in Tepa.
He said that in spite of these challenges, COCOBOD and the government had chosen to increase the cocoa producer price.
The President outlined the significant 68% increase in cocoa prices from GH7,600 per tonne in 2016 to GH12,800 per tonne in 2022.
But the Minority leader said if NDC was in power, it would have paid ¢2,800 to the farmers.
“In fact, from 2013 to 2016, I supervised the increase in cocoa prices. The truth is one, and no one can dispute it. There are two things we use to determine the increase in cocoa prices. The first one is the strength of the Cedi and the price of cocoa on the international market. As a country, there are things we import and there are also things we export.
“So when we import goods and the Cedi is not strong enough, the prices will go up and in the same way, when we export goods outside, we need to get profit,” he said.
In light of this, he claimed that, the farmers should have gotten at least ¢2,500 cedis per cocoa bag given the high price on the international market.
“As we speak now, cocoa prices have seen the biggest increment since 1977, so it is your season to make a profit. If NDC were to be in government, we would have a bag of cocoa at GH¢2,500 and add a premium of GH¢300. So you would have received GH¢2,800 per bag,” he added.
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