Gov’t targets 650,000 tonnes of cocoa during 2025/26 crop season – Finance Minister

The government has targeted the production of 650,000 tonnes of cocoa beans for the 2025/26 crop season.

The long-term vision is to scale up yields to reach the one million tonne mark.

This was revealed by Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as part of the government’s renewed efforts to revitalise Ghana’s cocoa sector, which has seen significant challenges in recent years due to climate impacts, illegal mining, smuggling and ageing farms.

“The target for the crop year is 650,000. We hope that we will do better than that, but you have to promise sustainability, so we are looking at 650,000,” Dr. Forson revealed at a short ceremony to announce the new cocoa producer price.

“Going forward, the government will announce a strategy to increase the yields from 650,000 to one million, and that will be part of the long-term strategy we’ll put across as part of the 2026 budget.”

After lowering its forecast in December 2024 from 650,000 tons to 617,500 tons, Ghana Cocoa Board now anticipates a maximum harvest of 600,000 tons for the 2024/25 crop season, with about two to three months remaining in the season.

The finance minister indicated that while the current projection is modest in the context of Ghana’s past cocoa highs, it is rooted in a commitment to building a more resilient and productive cocoa economy.

The move is also aligned with broader agricultural reforms and value chain interventions expected to be announced in the 2026 national budget.

Ghana, the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, has in recent seasons struggled to meet past production records due to a combination of smuggling, low farmgate prices, and deteriorating farmer livelihoods.

This projection comes after the government announced a 4.1% increase in the price for the 2025/26 crop season. 

A 64kg bag of cocoa is going for ¢3228.75 for the 2025/26 crop season

Read More