The cocoa price crisis in Ghana has escalated, engulfing not just farmers but the very clerks who form the backbone of the cocoa purchasing system.
A group of distressed clerks in the Lower West Akim Municipality held a press conference in Asuokaw, detailing the human and financial toll of the government’s sudden reduction of the cocoa producer price.
The trouble, clerks say, began months before the price cut. Delays in government funding from November left them struggling to raise capital to buy cocoa from farmers.
Despite the lack of financing, farmers continued to deliver cocoa, forcing clerks to take personal loans to maintain operations.
The situation worsened dramatically when the producer price dropped from GH¢3,625 to GH¢2,587 per 64kg bag. Clerks who had purchased cocoa at the higher rate and transported it to depots were suddenly trapped in a financial nightmare.
They are now expected to account for purchases made under the old price while operating under the new, leaving them exposed to heavy losses.
“The pressure is too much,” one clerk said. “Even though government has not released funding, farmers don’t understand that. They come every day. Some of us can’t even stay in our houses. We can’t handle it anymore.”
Daily transactions have turned into daily confrontations. Cocoa already bought before the price cut has become a source of tension, with farmers insisting on the old rate and clerks unable to meet their demands.
Incidents of disputes and near-violent clashes at buying points are reportedly occurring across cocoa-growing communities.
Clerks say the financial strain is compounded by emotional and psychological stress.
Cocoa buying is their only livelihood, and sudden policy changes leave them without safety nets or alternatives.
They accuse authorities of poor communication, arguing that advance notice of the price change could have reduced losses.
Parallel to the clerks’ outcry, cocoa farmers in the Eastern Region confirmed the crisis is systemic.
In a formal statement, they condemned the price reduction, describing it as a direct threat to their survival.
They emphasized that cocoa farming underpins rural livelihoods, funding school fees, healthcare, and household needs.
Farmers expressed frustration over unfulfilled political promises, recalling earlier assurances that prices could rise to GH¢6,500 per bag.
Instead, they face a sharp reduction, which they say has shattered trust.
Their demands are clear: reinstatement of the GH¢3,625 price and urgent consultations to reform pricing mechanisms in a way that safeguards farmers and the value chain.
Failure to act, they warned, could trigger peaceful mass demonstrations.
What has unfolded is more than a pricing dispute. It is a collapse of trust within the cocoa sector.
Farmers feel betrayed by the state, clerks feel abandoned by policy, and both groups are trapped in a system they do not control yet must operate.
The cocoa industry now faces a critical test of governance, communication, and crisis management.
