Graded and Sealed cocoa arrivals have not dropped by 42% - COCOBOD

COCOBOD debunks Reuters report

Ghana records 1.4 million metric tonnes of cocoa in 2020/2021

COCOBOD projects to hit 800,000 tonnes this season

The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has debunked assertions indicating Ghana’s graded and sealed (G&S) cocoa arrivals had dropped by 42 percent.

According to Reuters, at the beginning of this year’s harvest on October 1, Ghana’s graded and sealed cocoa arrivals had reached 408,000 tonnes by February 3, 2022 down by 42 percent from the same period of the previous season.

Reacting to the development in an interview on Asaase Radio, Director of Public Affairs of Ghana COCOBOD, Fiifi Boafo dispelled the reports as inaccurate.

“We would like to say that the figures put out there by the reporter are not accurate. I have checked from the reporter Ange who is based in Abidjan, who claims that he had some information from Cocoa Marketing Company, we have checked and those figures are not one that are credible," he is quoted by Asaaseradio.com

“The second part is that, this will not force us to discuss the details of our purchase because the truth is that this industry in terms of pricing is largely dependent on speculation and in a situation like this when you are forced to discuss details of your purchases, what it does is that it pushes you to the extent that you are not in control of how you manage your sales and then the pricing system goes against you,” he added.

Fifi Boafo continued, “So it will not force us, even though people want to play politics with it, but then whatever politics you do, there is nothing important than securing a better price for farmers who are dependent on what comes out of the market.”

Graded and sealed cocoa is produce that has been quality checked and sealed in bags by COCOBOD and ready to be shipped out.

On the other hand, Ghana's cocoa production is expected to reach 800,000 tonnes this season, COCOBOD has forecasted.

Meanwhile, Ghana in the 2020/21 crop season recorded more than 1.4 million metric tonnes of cocoa beans production.