Ghana has opened the 2026/27 cocoa season with a new producer price of GH¢42,400 per tonne, representing an increase of GH¢1,008 from the GH¢41,392 per tonne paid during the 2025/26 season.
The revised price took effect on Friday, September 25, 2026, as the new cocoa season officially opened.
The new rate means cocoa farmers will receive GH¢2,650 for a 64-kilogramme bag, compared with GH¢2,587 under the previous producer price.
New pricing framework
According to the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), the GH¢42,400 producer price represents 71.18 per cent of the realised gross Free-On-Board (FOB) value of cocoa.
The pricing decision follows consultations involving key stakeholders in the cocoa industry and comes under reforms introduced through the Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 2026 (Act 1182).
The new law provides that cocoa farmers should receive a minimum of 70 per cent of the realised gross FOB price of cocoa.
COCOBOD says the reforms are intended to strengthen the financial and institutional sustainability of Ghana’s cocoa sector while improving returns to farmers.
Support for cocoa farmers
Beyond the producer price, COCOBOD says government will continue productivity programmes designed to reduce the cost of production and improve farm yields.
These include the provision of free fertiliser, free hybrid cocoa seedlings and the Cocoa Disease and Pest Control Programme, according to the Board’s announcement.
COCOBOD also expects the revised producer price to contribute to efforts to reduce cocoa smuggling by making official channels more attractive to farmers and other actors within the supply chain.
Traceability and export requirements
The new cocoa season is also beginning with Ghana’s cocoa traceability system fully deployed across cocoa-growing areas, according to COCOBOD.
The Board says the Ghana Cocoa Traceability System (GCTS) is intended to support compliance with the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation, which is expected to take effect on December 30, 2026.
COCOBOD says the system will help Ghana supply cocoa to the European Union market that can be traced through the supply chain and verified as deforestation-free and legally produced.
What the new price means for farmers
The increase of GH¢1,008 per tonne amounts to an increase of about 2.4 per cent compared with the previous producer price.
While the adjustment raises the amount farmers receive for their cocoa, the new season also comes as Ghana undertakes broader reforms covering cocoa pricing, financing and management.
COCOBOD has separately announced plans for a domestic cocoa financing programme, through which Cocoa Capital PLC intends to raise up to GH¢16.3 billion to finance cocoa purchases for the 2026/27 season and refinance existing obligations.
The 2026/27 cocoa season therefore begins amid changes intended to reshape how Ghana finances, prices and manages one of the country’s most important agricultural commodities.
Source: Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Review of the Producer Price of Cocoa for the 2026/27 Cocoa Season, September 25, 2026.
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