Ghana’s COCOBOD and its Ivorian counterpart have made a strong case for key players in the cocoa value chain who buy cocoa beans from both countries to raise the price of the commodity for the benefit of farmers.
According to COCOBOD, even though Ghana and Ivory Coast produce the highest quality cocoa beans in the world, the high quality of the beans is not factored into the price increase.
Speaking at a meeting in Accra with buyers of cocoa beans from Europe, Ghana’s COCOBOD Managing Director, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, stressed that the two countries will push for better living conditions for farmers. of cocoa.
He said, for example, that an attempt to remove high cocoa prices is disappointing because it could cause farmers in both countries to lower the quality of beans produced in the region.
“We think we have a particular quality in Ghana and Ivory Coast, so over the years the industry has paid a high price for that. Now the premium is reduced and it is very disheartening to see the premium reduced. This means that once the premiums are reduced, the industry tells us to inform our farmers to also reduce the quality of the cocoa, but I do not think that is what the consumer wants,” he said.
Mr. Boahen Aidoo argued that the extra efforts made by COCOBOD and farmers to maintain a certain level of quality for buyers of cocoa beans should instead encourage stakeholders in Europe to pay more to maintain the standard.
He regretted that even though beans from Ghana and Ivory Coast are the best in the world, cocoa farmers in both countries are among the poorest in the cocoa value chain.
Meanwhile, Mr. Boahen Aidoo stressed the need for the full implementation of the $400 per ton living income differential for cocoa farmers.
According to him, players in the cocoa value chain need to start seeing farmers as the most important players in the industry.
