The Eastern Regional branch of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), in a press release dated April 8, 2024, and endorsed by the regional communications director, Evans Osei Yeboah, also known as TSOOBOI in political circles, praised the administration of Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr. Mahammud Bawumia for raising the producer price of cocoa per bag from 1,308 in September 2023 to Ghc2,070.
The statement refuted assertions made by the NDC that the current record-high international cocoa prices warranted a higher increase in the price paid to cocoa farmers by the government.
Read full release below
For Immediate Release
08/04/2024
INCREASE IN COCOA PRICES: ER NPP COMMENDS GOV’T, AGRIC MINISTER, AND EXPOSES NDC PROPAGANDA
Few days ago, Government announced a new price for cocoa. The price of a bag of cocoa was increased from the September 2023 price of Ghana 1,308 to Ghc2,070.
The NPP in eastern region on behalf of cocoa farmers in the region, appreciate the NPP government led by President Akufu-Addo and the next President of Ghana, Dr. Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia. We would want to also single out the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Hon. Bryan Acheampong for commendation.
This goodnews has resonated with cocoa farmers and Ghanaians in general have been satisfied, praising government. As usual, the NDC has set out in a scruffy and disorganized manner to lie and deceive unsuspecting citizens with outright fabrications and propaganda.
According to the NDC, Cocoa price in the international market has hit all time high today so government should have given much higher price to Cocoa farmers. It is important to expose the ignorance the NDC and educate them about how Ghana government trade in cocoa.
Over the years, Ghana always announces Cocoa syndicated loan it signs and boldly states that the loan procured “is to purchase Cocoa from farmers for the upcoming Cocoa session”.
This should simply tell the NDC that we don’t sell our Cocoa at SPOT price or the prevailing or current prices on the international market. Differently put, Ghana doesn’t wait for the Cocoa season to commence before it sells its Cocoa. So Ghana never sells Cocoa at today’s price seen on the international market.
Put in layman terms, Ghana doesn’t wait for the farmers to harvest the cocoa beans before we carry the cocoa beans to the market and sell it like how our mothers make sales of tomatoes, onions etc. on Mokola market.
Ghana’s Cocoa trading has always been on the derivatives market where we use futures/ forward contracts to sell our cocoa beans yet to be harvested by the farmers. Futures/forward are financial instruments that allows two parties to trade an asset or commodity at a specified price on a future date. In simple terms, the futures/forward contract Ghana uses to trade Cocoa allow us to sign a contract with investors on the terms that the investors will buy our Cocoa at an agreed price on a future date.
Before the season starts, Ghana meets investors on the international market and sign agreements (futures/forward contracts) with them with the terms that we will sell our cocoa beans to them at say $2,200 per metric ton (average terminal market price) when the cocoa farmers harvest the beans in future.
Let me hasten to add that under this contract, monies do not exchange hands. In other words, the investors have agreed to buy our cocoa beans but they won’t make any upfront payments to Ghana. Payments will only be made upon receipt of the Cocoa.
Now, the forward or if you like futures contracts Ghana signed with the investors will be used as collateral to secure say $1.13 billion syndicated loan with international banks to finance purchases for the upcoming season.
Upon receipt of the syndicated loan, COCOBOD will subsequently purchase the cocoa beans from our farmers and ship them to the investors whom we had signed futures/ forward contracts with. When the investors receive the Cocoa, they now make payment (the agreed price) to the international banks that Ghana took the syndicated loan from.
This trading arrangement enables COCOBOD to have cash readily available to purchase cocoa beans immediately it’s harvested by the farmers. In essence, farmers are on-the-clock because there is a ready market to buy their produce with cash and that will avert loses from rotten cocoa beans and prolonged sales.
The entire supply chain is oiled at every point in time, with this arrangement, and that benefits the cocoa farmer.
So the attempt by Empty NDC communicators to confused themselves and unsuspecting Ghanaians with SPOT sales is not only lame and scruffy, but humiliating.
Thank you.
Evans Osei Yeboah TSOOBOI
ER Communications Officer, NPP
Credit: Nana Kwasi Asare
