Ghana is awaiting concrete action from Cote d’Ivoire so as to work towards establishing a common platform between the two countries for controlling Cocoa prices.
Addressing the ECOWAS Parliament, the Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin noted that there was an invitation on the table to Cote d’Ivoire in this regard, with the potential to give the two countries more leverage, as far as the pricing of cocoa is concerned.
“… if Cote d’Ivoire is ready to accept an invitation by Ghana for them to share a common platform in controlling prices, because it is obvious that the international market, which is the user of cocoa, drives and determines cocoa prices and the poor farmers in our respective countries who are supposed to get the best in terms of value and in effects are shortchanged.”
“So I am quite sure that if Cote d’Ivoire is able to respond positively to such an invitation in Ghana, both countries can have a better situation than before, so over to Cote d’Ivoire,” the Effutu MP stated.
Mr. Afenyo-Markin was speaking after being sworn in as a member of the ECOWAS Parliament after MP for Akuapem South, Osei Bonsu Amoah, resigned after his deputy ministerial appointment because members of the Executive cannot be part of the ECOWAS Parliament.
Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire had been taking measures to address the price volatility of cocoa with the two countries, in April 2017, agreeing to coordinate their production strategies during a Cocoa and Coffee Council meeting in Abidjan.
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and the Coffee and Cocoa Council of Ivory Coast signed an agreement in this regard.
Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire are the largest producers of cocoa in the world, accounting for over 60 percent of the global share, but the wavering price volatility has not boded well for the two countries, as they currently contend with a 10-year low in prices.
In the 2015/2016 production year, Ivory Coast produced 1.7 million metric tonnes of cocoa, with Ghana producing about 840,000 tonnes.
Source: citifmonline.com
