Cocoa purchasing clerks in the Eastern Region have raised alarm over the impact of the government’s cocoa price reduction, describing the situation as a deepening crisis that is collapsing the cocoa trading system from within.
At a press conference held in Asuokaw in the Lower West Akim Municipality, the clerks said the problems began in November, when delays in funding made it difficult to raise capital to buy cocoa from farmers.
Many say they were forced to take personal loans and borrow money to continue operations due to pressure from farmers demanding payment.
The crisis worsened following the reduction in the cocoa producer price from GH¢3,625 to GH¢2,587 per 64kg bag, leaving clerks unable to recover money already spent on cocoa purchased at the old price.
They say cocoa already sent to depots is now generating losses, confusion, and daily disputes with farmers who insist on being paid at the previous rate.
Some clerks claim the pressure has become so severe that they no longer feel safe in their homes, as tensions with farmers continue to rise. They accuse authorities of poor communication, saying they were not informed in advance about the price cut and were therefore trapped into buying cocoa at higher prices.
Meanwhile, concerned cocoa farmers in the Eastern Region have also condemned the price reduction, calling it a betrayal of promises and a direct threat to their livelihoods.
The farmers insist that cocoa remains their only source of income and that rising costs of fertiliser, labour, transport, and agrochemicals make the new price unsustainable.
The farmers have demanded the immediate restoration of the GH¢3,625 price and renewed consultations on fair pricing, warning that failure to act could lead to peaceful demonstrations across cocoa-growing areas.
Both clerks and farmers say the situation reflects a broken system in which every layer of the cocoa value chain is suffering, with growing debt, tension, and instability spreading across rural communities, while confidence in the sector continues to decline. Enditem
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