President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has touted his achievements in the cocoa sector of the Ghanaian economy during the official opening of the permanent office of the Cote d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative in Accra.
He indicated that his administration has instituted the highest cocoa producer price in the nation’s history.
“In 2019, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire met in Accra where we held a dialogue on an important subject, which was critical to the survival of the global cocoa industry supply chain.
“That meeting, culminated in the adoption of a living income deferential for cocoa producers in the two countries which involves the additional payment of cocoa farmers of $400 per ton on the world market price for every cocoa sold by the two nations effective by the 2020/2021 season. The international cocoa market justifies our course of action. What we thought was impossible only two years ago is happening now,” he said.
“However, with the current peak in market prices, a new set of challenges has emerged necessitating a revision of the research approach to sustain or prevent a decline in prices. This underscores the importance of this organisation for the two countries to devise new strategies to address the evolving market dynamics,” he added.
Regarding the permanent office to spearhead the interests of cocoa farmers, the move is to build a vibrant cocoa sector to guarantee the income of cocoa farmers in the two countries.
President Akufo-Addo at the commissioning and official handing over of the Cote d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative secretariat building in Accra, said it is a major step in promoting effective economic development between the two countries.
The world cocoa market is characterized by pronounced volatility and a decline in prices in real terms of about 2% per year over the last half century.
Over the same period, value creation has been concentrated in the downstream segments of the market.
The differentiation of processed products has led to a relative stability of final prices, with a consequent decline in the price received by the producer as a percentage of the final price, now estimated at 5%.
The vision of CIGCI is to transform the current cocoa sector into a prosperous and sustainable one in line with the common ambition shared by most operators to provide decent wages to cocoa producers, contribute to the protection of forests and biodiversity, and be exemplary in terms of fundamental social and human rights.
Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, are responsible for 65% of the world’s cocoa, and the initiative is expected to build a vibrant cocoa sectors and to guarantee the income of cocoa farmers.
Prime Minister of of Cote d’Ivoire Robert Mambé, who represented the President of Cote d’Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, said Côte d’Ivoire is ready to work with Ghana to ensure that cocoa farmers in the two West African States reap the full benefits of their labour.
Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong, noted that the Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana cocoa initiative is a clear example of how cooperation between the two countries can overcome many challenges for the benefit of their people.
The main objectives among others are to achieve remunerative prices and improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers. To process, promote, and enhance consumption and utilization of cocoa to promote, foster, and defend the common interest of member countries in the international cocoa market and at all relevant international fora.
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