Cocobod’s Public Affairs Manager, Fiifi Boafo, has linked the decrease in production to unfavorable weather conditions.
According to him, the substantial influence of weather patterns on cocoa cultivation, particularly citing heavy rainfall at the onset of the cocoa season as a major issue.
While recognizing the importance of rainfall for cocoa production, he highlighted how excessive precipitation during this season has impeded the fruiting process, leading to a lower-than-expected harvest.
Additionally, Boafo underscored the adverse impact of severe harmattan conditions on cocoa pods, further complicating the situation.
Speaking in an interview he said, “The major contributory factor for low cocoa production is the weather situation we’ve experienced this cocoa season. It started with a heavy rainfall. Then it got to a time where you expected the pods you had to develop for you to harvest then we experienced severe harmattan.
“So this El Niño challenge is largely a contributory factor to the low production we experienced this year,” he said.
Mr Boafo also highlighted the swollen shoot disease that has plagued cocoa production.
Giving more details, he said about 590,000 hectares of cocoa farms in Ghana have been affected by the said disease.
Given that, these farms are under rehabilitation and are not producing cocoa beans at the moment.
“At the moment, about 590,000 hectares of cocoa farms in Ghana have been affected by swollen shoot and so it is affecting production. Indeed, we are rehabilitating some of these affected farms. And since the only known solution is cutting the affected trees, all the affected farms are not fruiting at the moment, “he said.
Ghana, one of the world’s leading cocoa producers, has been grappling with declining cocoa production in recent years.
The challenges posed by unpredictable weather patterns, illegal mining, and smuggling among others further exacerbate the already existing pressures on the industry, with repercussions felt both domestically and globally.
Currently, there is a global shortage of cocoa beans, thus shooting up the price of one tonne of cocoa to an unprecedented amount of $10,000.
However, research shows that Ghana might not significantly benefit from this increment since cocoa production has also significantly dropped this year.