The Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC) Ghana Limited has proposed a series of measures, including expanded local processing and strengthened forward sales, to stabilise the country’s cocoa sector amid global market volatility.
The proposals are contained in a policy brief authored by Dr. Wisdom Kofi Dogbey, Managing Director of CMC. The document outlines plans to accelerate local processing of cocoa beans to achieve at least 50 percent value addition, allocate more beans to domestic processors, maximise forward sales to secure favourable prices, and fully utilise existing processing capacity without major new capital investment.
The brief comes at a time when Ghana’s cocoa sector is facing revenue pressures following a sharp correction in international prices.
After surging to historic highs in 2024 due to supply shortfalls in West Africa, global cocoa prices have fallen significantly, affecting export earnings and producer price projections.
The downturn has compelled authorities to review payments to farmers for the remainder of the 2025/2026 crop season.
The producer price of cocoa has been reduced to GH¢2,100 per 64-kilogramme bag, down from GH¢3,625 announced at the beginning of the crop year.
Government has already signalled plans to process at least 50 percent of Ghana’s cocoa output locally as part of broader reforms aimed at promoting value addition and reducing dependence on raw bean exports.
According to Dr. Dogbey, CMC had taken proactive steps to cushion the sector against the price slump.
He noted that for the current crop season, the company had contracted approximately 90 percent of projected volumes during the period of historically high prices, prior to the recent market correction.
He explained that this early contracting strategy provided a significant buffer against declining prices and softer global demand conditions.
Dr. Dogbey emphasised that Ghana’s cocoa pricing mechanism is based on the weighted average of total seasonal sales rather than spot prices at a specific time.
As a result, the large proportion of sales concluded at higher price levels is expected to keep the final gross Free On Board (FOB) outcome commercially viable.
Beyond immediate price management, the brief introduces “Project Elevate” as a strategic initiative to strengthen resilience in the cocoa sector.
The initiative seeks to reposition Ghana within the global cocoa value chain by moving beyond the export of raw beans toward increased domestic processing.
Under the proposal, more cocoa beans would be allocated to local processors for conversion into semi-finished products such as cocoa liquor and cocoa butter, which generate higher value per tonne than raw bean exports.
The brief identifies the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) and the West African Mills Company(WAMCO) as strategic partners in implementing the policy. Both companies, in which Government holds equity stakes, are currently operating below installed capacity.
Dr. Dogbey noted that processing volumes could be increased immediately using existing infrastructure, without significant new capital expenditure.
He added that private processing firms would also play important roles in executing the strategy.
CMC, the commercial arm of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), is responsible for marketing and selling Ghana’s cocoa on the international market. Its performance determines export revenues and directly influences farmer payments.
The policy brief maintains that combining prudent forward sales management with accelerated local value addition offers a practical pathway to stabilise revenues, safeguard farmer incomes, and enhance Ghana’s competitiveness in the global cocoa industry.
