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COCOBOD’s CEO criticises Mahama in an open letter
The CEO of the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) has sent an open letter to former President John Dramani Mahama in response to the latter’s recent social media post criticising the new cocoa price.
Mr Mahama, who has previously served in government, should, according to Joseph Boahen Aidoo, evaluate “the broader context before passing judgement” while campaigning for the welfare of cocoa growers.
“Since you have had the privilege of being in government before as the number one gentleman of the country, it is expected that you would be familiar with the process for determining the producer price of cocoa,” Mr Boahen Aidoo wrote in the open letter dated Tuesday, September 12.
“I am, therefore, surprised that you chose, rather erroneously, to use the current international market price of cocoa at $3,600 per tonne as the basis for your calculation in your post on the recently announced producer price.”
Find the open letter below:
OPEN LETTER TO FORMER PRESIDENT JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA
Dear Mr. Mahama,
I have read your post on social media following the announcement of the Producer Price of cocoa, and it has become imperative to address certain misconceptions and misinformation arising from your post. While advocating for the welfare of our hard-working cocoa farmers is essential, it is equally important to approach the issue in good faith and consider the broader context before passing judgement.
Since you have had the privilege of being in government before as the number one gentleman of the country, it is expected that you would be familiar with the process for determining the producer price of cocoa. I am, therefore, surprised that you chose, rather erroneously, to use the current international market price of cocoa at $3,600 per tonne as the basis for your calculation in your post on the recently announced producer price.
Reasons
1. You are fully aware that Ghana’s cocoa beans are mostly sold forward. This means that the 2023/24 crop was sold between October 2022 and March 2023 at international prices; ranging between $2,200 per tonne and $2,400 per tonne. The international price of cocoa then began to increase in April 2023, when a greater percentage of the 2023/24 crop had already been sold.
2. The forward sale strategy enables COCOBOD to give farmers a guaranteed producer price and raise the syndicated loan offshore to pay farmers promptly for their produce.
3. The international price of cocoa as alluded to is quoted on a CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) basis, which includes insurance and freight, albeit COCOBOD receives only the FOB price (which is the cost of beans only). Insurance and freight are received by the insurance companies and shipping lines respectively.
4. Additionally, Mr. Mahama, Ghana produces both the Main Crop size category of beans (big-sized cocoa beans) and the Light Crop size category of beans (small-sized cocoa beans). The light crop beans are sold at a discount; ranging from 20% to 40% on the international market. The FOB price received by COCOBOD from the international market is therefore the weighted average price of both the main crop and light crop beans. This situation depresses the average weighted FOB price received by COCOBOD for the two crop categories (main and light crop beans) which form the basis for the determination of the producer price for cocoa.
5. For the 2023/24 season, the weighted average FOB achieved by COCOBOD was $2,600 per tonne.
6. Contrary to your assertion that the producer price of GH₵1,308 per bag for the 2023/24 season is paltry, the current producer price translates to $1,821 per tonne, which is 70.03% of the Gross FOB of $2,600 per tonne.
7. In the 2015/16 season, the NDC-led administration announced a producer price of GH₵6,800 per tonne. This was 61.71% of the gross FOB of $2,900 per tonne at the time, not the 66.06% as you alluded. This cannot be said to be better than the 70.03% achieved for the 2023/24 season.
It is significant to note that the operational cost of COCOBOD for the 2023/24 season is about 4% of the gross FOB, hence, the rest of the share of the FOB goes into industry costs,
LBC margins, and transportation.
Generally, the operational cost of COCOBOD has hovered around 4% to 5% of gross FOB since the NPP took over government.
It is also worth noting that the government, through COCOBOD, has invested heavily in productivity-enhancement programmes such as mass spraying, pruning, hand pollination, rehabilitation of diseased farms and the subsidized fertilizer programmes.
The implementation of the productivity-enhancement programmes has led to an increase in the productivity of cocoa farms from an average of 450 kilos per hectare in the 2015/16 season to an average of 650 kilos per hectare in the 2022/23 season.
This has led to an increase in the income of cocoa farmers.
It is my considered view that this explanation would be a useful guide and source of information in your future engagements on the topic.
Your friend and former colleague,
HON JOSEPH BOAHEN AIDOO
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
A terrible accident occurred at the base of Galenkui Mountain in Ho, claiming the lives of nine people, including babies.
The terrifying occurrence occurred as a 207 Benz was transporting goods and passengers from Abotoase to Sogakofe.
The car encountered brake failure while descending the mountain, culminating in a collision with a Zoomlion garbage truck.
Initial reports verified seven fatalities at the disaster scene, including newborns and children.
Following that, Mary Dzifa, a nurse at Ho Municipal Hospital, informed Citi News that roughly ten children had died in the disaster.
“I was at our facility yesterday, November 22, when a car rushed in with dead and injured children and injured adults, especially men. Some were attended to at the facility, and the rest who were severely injured were taken to the Ho Teaching Hospital. The dead children will be about 10.”
Officials at the Ho Teaching Hospital said that 32 people were admitted for injuries incurred, with 9 dying as a result of their injuries.
Amos Jah, the Public Relations Officer of Ho Teaching Hospital, said that the injured patients are receiving medical attention and making progress in their rehabilitation.
“I received a call from a friend yesterday who was going back to town and that he saw the accident, so I quickly informed the nurses to be on alert. Some were brought in with pickups, ambulance, tricycles; the situation was very bad, some had broken limbs, some heads almost being severed, some were bleeding from all parts of the body. After two hours, we were able to calm the situation down.”
“We had a total of 30 accident victims brought here. Two others were brought from the Municipal Hospital this morning, making it 32 in all. My information is that we lost 9 of them, 4 are kids and 5 are adults. For the kids, three were brought in dead. Those injured are responding to treatment.”
Dr Adam Bonaa, a security expert, has requested the Oti Regional Minister to restrict all public events in Nkwanta in response to the riots that have taken eight lives.
The fights, in his opinion, were avoidable.
“The Regional Minister and his men must make certain that this never happens again.” This was avoidable, yet 8 people died as a result,” he remarked on TV3’s Ghana Tonight on Tuesday, November 21.
He further suggested that “It is important to suspend all public activities that are likely to take place by the two factions, this is the surest way of letting them know that there is an authority within Nkwanta and the region.”
The Oti Regional Security Council (REGSEC) will host an emergency security meeting today, Wednesday, November 22, in response to the Nkwanta riots.
Regional Minister Joshua Gmayenaam Makubu, appearing on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 on Tuesday, November 21, verified the number of dead and described the pandemonium as “ethnic clashes.”
“Tomorrow we are going to have an emergency security meeting again, ” he further said.
He also disclosed that there had been conflicts in town two weeks earlier between members of two tribes, Adele and Akyode.
Following the conflicts, the Minister of the Interior, Ambrose Dery, acted on the advice of the REGSEC and via Executive Instrument to impose a curfew on Nkwanta township.
The curfew will be in force from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 21.
On Tuesday, November 21, an attacker opened fire in the town’s central market area.
Several people have been murdered and others have been injured as a result of the incident.
The Oti Regional Security Council dispatched officers to the region to handle the situation.
“Government wishes to appeal to all to exercise restraint and to use the established mechanisms for the resolution of all their conflicts and disputes.
“Meanwhile, the Government will like to reiterate that, there is a ban on all persons in Nkwanta Township and its environs from carrying arms, ammunition or any offensive weapons and any persons found with any arms or ammunition will be arrested and prosecuted,” the Minister said.
Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has categorically rejected selling his official house to a private developer.
He then stated that his home was “almost sold” to a private developer.
The Speaker of Parliament recently revealed that his Accra home was sold to a private developer while he was still living there.
He said this only came to light when the developer went to the Lands Commission to register the land on Monday at the Speaker’s Breakfast Forum in Accra.
However, the Lands Commission claimed in a statement that “at no time did the Lands Commission sell the said property to a private developer.”
In a recent meeting with civil society organisations, the Speaker emphasised that his official house was on the verge of being turned over to a developer except for the intervention of the Lands Commission.
“I didn’t say my residence was sold. That was not what I said. This was just a comment in passing when I said it was almost sold but luckily, I was in possession. And I said it was when they went to Lands Commission that they realised from the search that it was the residence of the Speaker,” Alban Bagbin clarified.
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