President John Dramani Mahama said on Friday that the government’s decision to cut the cocoa producer price was difficult but necessary to protect Ghana’s fragile economic recovery
He warns that maintaining previous levels would have forced heavy borrowing.
Speaking during his 2026 State of the Nation Address to parliament, Mahama said the producer price had been reduced to GHC41,392 per tonne, or GHC2,587 per bag, for the remainder of the 2025/2026 crop season due to acute liquidity pressures in the cocoa sector.
He said keeping the earlier price would have required the state to borrow billions of cedis, risking a return to economic instability after recent efforts to stabilise public finances.
“The difference between economic hardship and avoiding the same is the exercise of sound economic judgement. I am determined to take decisions that ensure our collective wellbeing and avoid the sufferings of all our citizens. These are decisions to take but Mr. Speaker, I had to take them,” Mahama told lawmakers.
Cocoa is Ghana’s second-largest foreign exchange earner after gold and a key source of income for millions of smallholder farmers, making producer price adjustments politically sensitive.
Mahama said the price cut was guided by what he described as sound economic judgement and the broader national interest, and assured farmers that ongoing reforms would lead to a transformed cocoa sector.
He said the government’s long-term objective was to guarantee fair and competitive prices for cocoa farmers while ensuring the financial sustainability of the sector.
The announcement comes as Ghana seeks to consolidate recent economic gains following years of debt distress, currency weakness and tight financing conditions.
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