The Ghana COCOBOD has disclosed that the country lost about 160,000 tonnes of cocoa production output to smuggling in the 2023/2024 crop season, as reported by Reuters.

Director of Special Services at the cocoa regulator, Charles Amenyaglo, said the impact of smuggling is dire, as the country lost more than triple of the total cocoa production output in 2023/2024.

"Conservatively, I will say we lost 160,000 tonnes," he told Reuters, adding that a joint task force has been able to intercept about 250 tonnes of smuggled cocoa beans, up from the 17 tonnes smuggled in the 2022/2023 crop season.

The COCOBOD director mentioned that the regulator is working towards the deployment of the Ghana Armed Forces to curb these growing incidents of cocoa smuggling to neighboring countries.

Ivory Coast and Ghana account for about 60 percent of global cocoa bean supplies. However, cocoa smuggling has plagued production activities, driving prices on the market through the roof and increasing chocolate prices this year.

Data from COCOBOD showed that Ghana produced 429,323 metric tonnes of cocoa by the end of June from the start of the season in September, which is less than 55% of the average output.

Reuters reports that the 2023/2024 crop season saw the biggest fall in cocoa production output for the cocoa industry in over 20 years.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s COCOBOD has set the farmgate price for cocoa farmers at GH¢48,000 per tonne, or GH¢3,000 for a 64-kilogram bag for the 2024/2025 crop season.

This represents a 45 percent increase in the producer price compared to April 2024 and a 129 percent increase from the September 2023 price.

The announcement follows COCOBOD's negotiations with the government to raise the producer price for cocoa farmers in an effort to curb smuggling and improve their livelihoods as the new crop season begins.

MA