Ghana's Finance Minister said on Friday the West African nation has fixed the price it purchases cocoa from producers at 3,280 cedis ($2,024) per tonne in the 2011/2012 cocoa season compared with 3,200 cedis per tonne in the previous season.
The producer price is that which the Ghana cocoa regulator, the Cocobod the sole buyer in the country, purchases cocoa from Ghanaian farmers for export. Purchases for the new 2011/12 cocoa season will begin on Friday. . "The producer price review committee reviewed upwards the producer price from 3,200 cedis per tonne to 3,280 cedis per tonne which is 76.04 percent of the net FOB (Free On Board) price," Kwabena Duffuor told a news conference, referring to a standard measure of export price excluding freight costs.
"This figure translates to 205 cedis per bag of 64 kg gross weight," Duffuor said, adding the price took effect immediately.. The price means Ghana continues to pay just over $2 for a kilo of cocoa, higher than farmgate prices in neighbouring Ivory Coast, which currently vary between 650-900 CFA francs ($1.36-1.88), a fact which has encouraged some Ivorian farmers to smuggle their beans into Ghana for purchase there.. Cocoa futures on ICE rose in early trade on Friday, underpinned by a sharp rise in the European third-quarter cocoa grind but have come off record highs seen early this year after a four-month violent post-election conflict in top producer Ivory Coast raised supply concerns.