The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), has announced the closure of its primary purchases for the 2021/2022 crop season.

A press release signed by the Ghana Cocoa Board Chief Executive, Hon Joseph Boahen Aidoo, and sighted by the Vaultz News said the closure ends all cocoa purchasing activities for the primary season.

“It is hereby notified for general information that purchases of the 2021/2022 Main Crop Cocoa Season will close on THURSDAY, 26^TH MAY 2022. In order to assist the Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) in obtaining the final returns from up-country, Ghana Cocoa Board has decided that returns on the declared purchases will be accepted up to 4:00 p.m. on THURSDAY, 2^nd JUNE 2022.”
COCOBOD

This comes after the Russia-Ukraine war has negatively impacted the export of commodities like cocoa, as companies in Russia and Ukraine which buy Ghana’s cocoa products are unable to do so now because of sanctions on Russia and the halt in productive activity in Ukraine.

Chief Executive of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahen Aidoo, said the situation has already skyrocketed fertilizer prices, making importing the needed ingredients for cocoa cultivation difficult. This could linger for at least the next two years.

“The coming years will be tough for us as a sector and for our farmers because the war in Ukraine has come to compound the adverse effect of the COVID-19 pandemic to the extent that the basic ingredients needed in producing fertilizers and other chemicals are going to be difficult to come by. We have to brace ourselves for the coming years and expect that the fertilizer price will not be the same – even getting the fertilizer will be a challenge”.
Joseph Boahen Aidoo

Cocoa production for 2021/22 forecasted to fall

Cocoa production for the 2021/22 cocoa season has been forecasted to fall by one-third due to less conducive weather conditions and the outbreak of swollen shoot disease.

In April, reports by Reuters suggested that harsh weather conditions due to the harmattan winds are expected to reduce cocoa production in Ghana by at least 31 percent in 2021/22 from the season before. It further reported that country’s total production is projected not to exceed 710,000-720,000 tonnes this year, mainly because of a climate that has been catastrophic for cocoa.

According to the International Cocoa Organization’s (ICCO) monthly report for April 2022, the global 2021/22 cocoa market will fall into a deficit of 181,000MT from a surplus of 215,000 in 2020/21. Global 2021/22 cocoa production will fall by 5.2 percent year on year (y/y) to 4.955 MMT from a record 5.226 MMT in 2020/21.

“Available information on crop sizes in main cocoa origin countries of West Africa suggests that the 2021/22 cocoa season is heading toward a world deficit of approximately 181,000 tonnes mainly due to a shortfall in the Ghanaian production. Indeed, less conducive meteorological conditions and the outbreak of swollen shoot disease are the major contributing factors for the production decline.”
ICCO