Cocoa is at record prices. Farmers ask: where is our share?
World cocoa prices have hit record levels, and Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire — who grow most of the world's cocoa — are arguing over how much of that money reaches the farm gate. Regulators say the share is protected; farmers' groups say it is not arriving.
Key points
- Cocoa futures reached record highs this season — exchange data, not in dispute.
- COCOBOD raised the producer price and says farmers get at least 70% of the world price.
- Farmers' associations say the farm-gate reality is far below that share — the arithmetic differs, not the promise.
- Smuggling is said to be rising sharply, but no seizure figures have been published to prove it.
What happened
World cocoa prices have reached record highs this season, on exchange data neither side disputes. Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire grow most of the world's cocoa, so the argument that followed was inevitable: how much of a record price should reach the people who grow the beans? COCOBOD, Ghana's regulator, announced a producer price it says protects farmers' share — at least 70% of the world market price.
Farmers' associations answer with different arithmetic. They say the farm-gate price, measured their way — net of costs, at the exchange rate that applies when beans are actually sold — works out far below the promised share. COCOBOD also points out that forward sales made earlier in the season locked in lower prices for some beans before the peak. Meanwhile, reports from the border regions say smuggling to neighbouring countries is rising, because prices there are paid faster and higher — a claim repeated widely but not yet backed by published seizure figures.
Both sides, in their own words
Both sides heard. Neither believed for free. Publishing a side's version is not endorsing it — the claim checks below are where verdicts live.
Side A · COCOBOD & regulators
- The producer price was raised this season to protect farmers' share of the world price.
- Forward sales made earlier in the season mean some beans were sold before prices peaked.
Side B · Farmers' associations
- The farm-gate price still works out far below the share farmers were promised.
- Smuggling to neighbouring countries is growing because prices there are paid faster and higher.
Independently verified
Cocoa futures reached record highs this season. COCOBOD raised the producer price paid for cocoa this season.Not yet verified
Cocoa smuggling out of Ghana has risen sharply this season.Claim by claim
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- Cocoa futures hit record highs this season (exchange data).
- COCOBOD raised the producer price this season (its own announcement).
- Both sides published workings for the 70% claim — and the workings disagree.
What we don't know yet
- Whether smuggling has actually risen sharply — no seizure figures are published.
- What share farmers truly receive once costs and exchange rates are counted the same way by both sides.
Why it matters
Cocoa is the living of hundreds of thousands of smallholder families in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. A record world price that never reaches the farm gate means the boom enriches everyone in the chain except the people who grow the crop — and farmers who believe smugglers pay better will sell across the border, whatever the law says.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Added the farmers' associations' arithmetic alongside COCOBOD's.