GH¢212 for 64kg bag of cocoa
By Stephen Odoi-Larbi
A 64kg bag of cocoa is now selling at GH¢212, representing 78.42 percent of the net Free On Board (FOB) price, according to a new producer price of the commodity released by the Government over the weekend.
This translates the price of the country’s number one export commodity to GH¢3,392 per tonne, a GH¢112 price increase from the previous season of GH¢3,280.
The new producer price takes effect from Friday, October 12, 2012, despite falling world market prices for the commodity.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Finance & Economic Planning, Dr. Kwabena Duffour, at a press briefing in Accra.
According to him, despite the fall in world cocoa prices, the government remains committed to ensuring that the welfare of cocoa farmers was continuously enhanced.
“In fulfillment of this commitment, the government has decided to reduce its share of the 2012/2013 cocoa export duty, in order to raise the producer price paid to our hardworking cocoa farmers. This decision was taken to increase the earnings of farmers so as to enhance their welfare,” he noted.
Cocoa prices have declined from US$3,000 in 2011/2012 to US$2,300 in 2012/2013 crop season.
According to the Finance Minister, to mitigate risk, the government in 2008/09 crop season set up a Stabilization Fund with annual contributions from the FOB price, with the primary objective of sustaining the earnings of cocoa farmers in challenging times, “like we are witnessing during this 2012/2013 cocoa season.”
“Given the difficulty of the situation confronting us and in line with the underlying objective of the Stabilization Fund, the accumulated fund has been applied accordingly,” he stressed.
He pledged the government commitment to continue to support other interventions, including the pests and diseases control for farmers and hi-tech programmes to ensure that the country’s track record in the cocoa industry was sustained.
The former Governor of the Bank of Ghana added that the government would continue with its programme of rehabilitating cocoa and coffee farms, the provision of 20 million free improved seedlings every year to farmers for the next five years, as well as scholarship schemes for the children of cocoa farmers in second cycle institutions.
The government approved maintained other rates and fees, including the buyer’s margin, hauliers’ rate, warehousing and internal marketing costs as well as fees for disinfestations, grading and sealing at last year’s levels.
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