Aide to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Kofi Tonto, has attributed price reduction in cocoa to poor decisions made by Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod).
Speaking on ‘Anɔpa Bɔfoɔ’ on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, he emphasized that the price reduction has no connection to the challenges faced by Cocobod, adding that the crop year took a decision that for the crop year, they will pay 3600.
“The issues we have had since time immemorial are not the cause of the cocoa price reduction.
“The price reduction has nothing to do with the challenges of Cocobod; it has everything to do with bad, terrible, and messy trading decisions taken by Cocobod,” he highlighted.
He revealed that the management of Cocobod decided to play “aviator” with cocoa prices instead of selling the majority of the beans.
“Unfortunately, instead of selling the majority of the beans at that price, they were looking for what we call a higher spot price, so they placed a bet, which we term ‘aviator,’ unfortunately for them, they didn’t win the games they played.
“By the time they realized it, along with the government’s pronouncement about a price increment, that affected the cocoa price on the international market,” he noted.
Mr. Tonto noted that Ghana could have avoided the significant cocoa price reduction when the world market tanked if it had sold the majority of its cocoa.
“The world market tanked, and we could have avoided it if we had sold the majority of our cocoa when it reached 7,000.
“But we were hoping for a higher price, and in the process of waiting, the price slumped. That is what caused the price reduction, not the structural challenges of Cocobod,” Mr. Tonto pointed out.
He further asserted that, bad trading decisions by CocoBod caused the prices to fall, not the world market.
Source: Christabel Opare
