The National Communications Officer for the opposition National Democratic Congress, Sammy Gyamfi has accused President Akuffo Addo and the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana COCOBOD of blatantly lying about the increase of cocoa prices for the 2023/2024 cocoa season.

He noted that the figures the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD mentioned contradict what President Akuffo Addo gave when he announced the cocoa price for the 2023/2024 cocoa season.

“Fiifi says President Akuffo Addo and the CEO of COCOBOD said that they got an international FOB price of $2,600 per tonne; and also says the exchange rate they used in fixing the farmgate price per bag which is GHS 1308 was GHS 11.50p. Meaning that if we do the arithmetic it must give us an outcome, a per bag price of GHS1308, which is what they have announced. But if we do the arithmetic’s, and multiply GHS11.50P by $2,600 you would get GHS 29,900.
Then President Akuffo Addo said I didn’t give all the GHS29,900 to the farmer but I gave the farmer 70.5% forgetting that the CEO of COCOBOD said they gave the farmers 70.3%. if we use the 70.5% of the President by GHS 29,900 would give us GHS 21079.5 per tonne in cedis, That is what according to President Akuffo Addo they gave to the farmers but if you divide this figure by 60 you must get the per bag price President Akuffo Addo announced at Tepa which is GH1308 but you don’t get it rather you get GHS1317, because they are lying”.
Sammy Gyamfi

The National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress also alleges that claims that COCOBOD does not sell cocoa based on the international market spot prices are untrue.

Mr. Sammy Gyamfi further accused the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD of lying about his claims that COCOBOD sold the majority of the cocoa for the 2023/2024 cocoa season between October 2022 year to March 2023 and challenge COCOBOD to provide evidence to buttress it claims.

Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer of COCOBOD, Fiifi Boafo intimated he is unable to provide details of the stock sales of COCOBOD due to terms and conditions of trading.

Minority Calls For The Resignation Of COCOBOD CEO

The Minority in Parliament has intensified calls for the resignation of the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo for mismanaging the sector and short-changing farmers by a whopping Ghs1500 per bag for the new season.

According to the National Democratic Congress members of parliament, COCOBOD under the current Chief Executive Officer has made losses since 2017, a situation which has impoverished the cocoa sector severely.

However, the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) criticized former President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday for denigrating the government’s move to raise the price of cocoa.

In a statement, COCOBOD CEO Joseph Boahen Aidoo said that President Mahama should be familiar with the process for determining the producer price of cocoa.