The International Cocoa Organization’s Cocoa Market Report of March 2023 indicates that the cocoa industry has experienced its second price reversal in the agricultural market in the last five seasons due to global developments.
According to the report, over the past five mid-seasons, Ghana’s farm-gate prices in US dollar nominal terms have outperformed those of its neighbour Côte d’Ivoire.
The situation, however, changed during the mid-crops for the seasons 2021–2022, and 2022–2023, primarily as a result of the cedi (GH)’s significant decline against the US dollar.
The fixed farmgate prices in Ghana ($1,206 US per tonne) and Ivory Coast ($900 XOF per kg) for the 2022–23 mid-crop have not altered. They are set at GH12,800 per tonne and 900 XOF per kg, respectively.
The report also said that Ghana’s currency issues are mostly to blame for the change in farm-gate prices in the country’s cocoa business.
A number of circumstances, including the COVID-19 pandemic, poor commodities prices, and the nation’s debt load, have caused the value of the GH to decline in relation to the US.
