NPP slams government over "unlawful" GH¢2,650 cocoa producer price for 2026/27 season
The NPP has criticized the government's 2026/27 cocoa producer price of GH¢2,650 per bag as unlawful and inadequate, demanding compliance with Act 1182 and settlement of outstanding farmer arrears
The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has strongly condemned the government's newly announced cocoa producer price of GH¢2,650 per 64kg bag for the 2026/27 crop year, describing the figure as both inadequate and a direct violation of national law.
The price, announced by the NDC Government on Friday, September 25, 2026, represents an increase of just GH¢63, or 2.4 percent, over the reduced price that closed out the turbulent 2025/26 season. However, the NPP argues that the rate falls short of the statutory threshold established under newly enacted legislation.
At the core of the NPP's critique is Section 57 of the Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 2026 (Act 1182), which mandates that the producer price for a crop season must not be less than 70 percent of the Gross Free-on-Board (FOB) price realized by the Cocoa Board.
While the government asserts that the GH¢2,650 figure constitutes 71.18 percent of the Gross FOB price, the NPP's policy secretariat challenges this computation. Pointing to international market prices—which have ranged between US$5,500 and over US$6,000 per tonne over the past three months—the opposition argues that the minimum lawful price should be approximately GH¢2,968.44 per bag when factoring in the US$400 Living Income Differential (LID).
"Even on conservative assumptions, farmers are being underpaid by approximately GH¢318 on every bag, or more than GH¢5,000 on every tonne of cocoa they produce," the NPP stated.
The NPP statement also recalled the political landscape leading up to the announcement, highlighting campaign pledges made during the 2024 elections. According to the party, senior government figures—including Minister for Food and Agriculture Hon. Eric Opoku, Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, and the President himself—campaigned on a promise of GH¢6,000 per bag and criticized previous pricing as exploitative.
Instead, farmers experienced a drastic downward revision in February 2026, when the government slashed the 2025/26 producer price from GH¢3,625 to GH¢2,587 per bag mid-crop year. The NPP branded that move as both arbitrary and unlawful, noting that it marked the first time in Ghana's cocoa history that a guaranteed minimum price had been revised downward.
Compounding these grievances, the Chamber of Cocoa Marketers recently reported that approximately GH¢4 billion worth of cocoa beans delivered to COCOBOD during the 2025/26 crop year remains unpaid, leaving LBCs and farmers deeply skeptical about prompt payments for the upcoming season.
In light of these concerns, the NPP has outlined a five-point demand urging the government to correct course and protect farmers' livelihoods:
"Seventy percent of the Gross FOB price, as the law prescribes, is not GH¢2,650," the statement concluded, emphasizing that cocoa producers deserve transparency, fairness, and strict adherence to the laws governing the sector.
Read the NPP's full statement below: