Ghana has announced a significant increase in the farmgate price paid to cocoa farmers, raising it by 58.26% to GH¢33,120 per tonne for the 2023/2024 crop season, effective April 5, 2024. 

The decision aims to distribute profits from escalating global prices and combat bean smuggling. 

Cocoa prices have surged more than threefold in the past year due to disease and adverse weather in Ghana and neighbouring Côte d'Ivoire, leading to a third consecutive global market deficit. 

Currently, Ghana's state-guaranteed cocoa price stands at GH¢20,943 cedi ($1,574.66) per tonne or approximately GH¢21 per kilogramme. 

In a related development, Côte d'Ivoire recently raised its farmgate price for the April-to-September mid-crop of the 2023/24 season to 1,500 CFA francs ($2.47, or about GH¢33) per kilogram, up from 1,000 CFA francs last season.