In a significant blow to illegal cross-border trade, the Anti-Cocoa Smuggling Taskforce of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), supported by national security, seized 100 bags of cocoa beans at Old Akrade.
The suspects attempted to bypass heavy security at the Adomi Bridge tollbooths by concealing the beans under a load of chippings in a tipper truck. Security officials believe the smugglers planned to use a ferry at Senchi to cross the lake and reach Togo via Juapong.
The operation highlights a growing crisis in Ghana’s cocoa sector. While the taskforce has intercepted approximately 250 tons this season – a massive jump from 17 tons in 2022/23 – total losses remain staggering. Experts conservatively estimate that Ghana lost 160,000 tons of cocoa to smuggling in the 2023/24 season alone, more than tripling previous figures.
Several factors have fueled this trend:
- Price Disparity: Cocoa is significantly more profitable in neighboring Togo and Ivory Coast due to their use of the stable CFA franc and less regulated market structures.
- Currency Pressures: The depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi has slashed the real value of the local producer price, driving farmers toward “black market” buyers.
- Production Challenges: Widespread illegal mining (galamsey), climate change, and the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus have already crippled output, making the loss of the remaining beans even more critical.
By the end of June 2024, Ghana had produced only 429,323 metric tons of cocoa, less than 55% of the historical average for that period. This represents the country’s worst production decline in over 20 years.
To combat the exodus of beans, COCOBOD recently raised the producer price to GH¢48,000 per tonne (GH¢3,000 per bag) for the 2024/25 season, an attempt to bridge the price gap and protect the industry’s future.
