The Institute of Economic Research and Public Policy (IERPP) is demanding a transparent explanation for what it describes as a sharp disparity between Ghana’s cocoa export earnings, realised cocoa prices and the producer price paid to cocoa farmers.
According to the Institute, Ghana’s cocoa export earnings nearly doubled from US$1.94 billion in 2024 to US$3.86 billion in 2025, representing an increase of approximately 99.2%.
In a press statement issued on Sunday, September 6, 2026, IERPP said the realised cocoa price, the average price Ghana received per tonne of cocoa sold or exported, also rose from US$4,440 per tonne in 2024 to US$5,877.40 in 2025, representing a 32.4% increase.
The Institute said the figures raise questions about why cocoa farmers subsequently received a producer price of GH¢2,500 per bag.
IERPP said converting the export earnings using the Bank of Ghana exchange rates of GH¢14.70 to US$1 in 2024 and GH¢10.88 to US$1 in 2025 shows that cocoa export earnings increased from approximately GH¢28.52 billion to GH¢42 billion in cedi terms.
That represents an increase of about GH¢13.48 billion, or 47.3%, the Institute said.
It added that the realised cocoa price, when converted into cedis, moved from approximately GH¢65,268 per tonne to GH¢63,946 per tonne.
However, IERPP stressed that the exchange-rate adjustment does not eliminate the increase in the international cocoa price, which rose by 32.4% in dollar terms.
Using the previous GH¢3,100 producer price as a proportional benchmark, IERPP calculated that a 32.4% increase would translate into approximately GH¢4,104 per bag.
The Institute therefore estimates a gap of about GH¢1,604 per bag between that benchmark and the GH¢2,500 paid to farmers.
IERPP also presented an alternative calculation using a GH¢3,500 producer price as the starting point. Applying the same 32.4% increase would result in approximately GH¢4,634 per bag, which is more than GH¢2,100 above the GH¢2,500 subsequently paid.
The Institute, however, acknowledged that the calculation is only a proportional benchmark and does not, on its own, establish the appropriate farmgate price.
IERPP clarified that it is not arguing that export earnings or international cocoa prices automatically determine the farmgate price.
It noted that cocoa pricing involves several factors, including financing costs, processing, transportation, marketing, COCOBOD operations, producer incentives and other deductions.
The Institute said its concern is instead about accountability and how additional value generated within the cocoa sector was distributed across the value chain.
The concern, it said, is heightened by the reported GH¢5.11 billion in COCOBOD earnings in the 2025 SIGA report.
IERPP is consequently asking Government and COCOBOD to explain how the figures translate into the amount ultimately paid to farmers.
“If cocoa export earnings rose from US$1.94 billion to US$3.86 billion, realized cocoa prices increased by 32.4%, and COCOBOD recorded GH¢5.11 billion in the period under review, why did the cocoa farmer receive only GH¢2,500 per bag?”
The Institute is calling for the publication of a full breakdown covering export earnings, international cocoa prices, exchange-rate effects, COCOBOD revenues and costs, producer-price calculations, farmer payments and the distribution of value along the cocoa value chain.
Read the full statement below:
