The Member of Parliament for Akim Swedru, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, has defended the New Patriotic Party’s handling of cocoa prices in 2017, arguing that the government at the time shielded farmers from the impact of falling global prices.
In a Facebook post, the MP stated that when world cocoa prices dropped sharply in 2017—from over $3,000 per tonne to about $1,800—the then New Patriotic Party (NPP) government did not reduce the farm gate price paid to cocoa farmers.
According to him, despite a nearly 40% decline in international cocoa prices, the government maintained the producer price of a bag of cocoa at GH¢475.00. He described the move as a bailout aimed at protecting farmers from the volatility of the global market.
“When world cocoa price in 2017 tumbled from a little over $3,000 to a record low price of $1,800, the previous NPP Government did not reduce the farm gate price of the farmer but rather bailed the sector out,” he wrote.
Criticism of Mahama Government’s Currency Management
Mr. Osei Nyarko also criticized the current administration led by President John Dramani Mahama, accusing it of artificially managing the Ghanaian cedi in a way that has negatively affected cocoa export revenues.
He argued that the government’s handling of the exchange rate has reduced the returns of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), thereby straining the cocoa sector.
“The current President John Dramani Mahama Government has choked itself through its artificial management of the cedi which has rendered Cocobod’s export returns useless,” he stated.
