Ghana’s cocoa production is predicted to plummet by at least 16% between 2026 and 2027, according to market regulator COCOBOD.
It elaborates on the cautions farmers have voiced by citing weather impacts, the crop’s natural fruit-bearing cycle, and illness.
In response to enquiries from Reuters, the regulator stated that the reduction is due to the possibility of El Niño conditions, heavy rainfall in May and June this year, and the cocoa tree’s physiological bearing pattern, which alternates between years with higher and lower yields.
According to COCOBOD, these parameters were consistent with the Western and Western North areas’ low cherelle load, or the quantity of tiny pods that reach maturity.
The regulator stated that the combined effects of swollen shoot disease, aged cocoa farms, and a rise in illegal gold mining had worsened the outlook in those two regions, which together account for more than half of Ghana’s output.
The illegal mining, known locally as “galamsey,” leads to miners taking over farms.
The forecast for the 12-month season, which starts in September, comes after farmers in the Western and Western North regions warned of drastically lower pod counts this season.
Rehabilitating affected farms in the Western North Region, increasing insecticide and fungicide spraying, and resuming a free fertiliser distribution program for the 2026–2027 crop year are just a few of the steps COCOBOD says it has taken to reduce losses.
Cocoa production in Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa producer, is predicted to drop by more than 10% in the upcoming season. West Africa’s cocoa prognosis has previously been lowered.
Source: newsthemegh.com