Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have agreed to legislate the minimum producer price to be paid to cocoa farmers as a means to safeguard their income.

The two countries agreed to pay farmers a guaranteed minimum price of 70 per cent of the floor price of $2,600 per tonne.

Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, Chief Executive of Cocobod told a press conference on Monday, that farmers would be entitled to bonus payment when the achieved average gross Free On Board (FOB) price at the end of the Cocoa season is between the minimum of $2,600 ($2,700 Cost Insurance Freight (CIF) – $2,900 ($3,000 CIF).

He said the countries agreed that a stabilization account be created under the Cocoa initiative of both countries and provided for in the Charter.

In this respect, two accounts would be set up for each country within the secretariat in Accra where any extra value above $3,000 CIF or $2,900 Gross FOB of the Achieved Weight Average will be deposited.

Mr Aidoo said the only mandate for which monies could be disbursed from the account was for the sole purpose of supporting the Achieved Weight Average if it falls below $2,300 CIF or $2,200 Gross FOB.

“It is instructive to note that, this new arrangement fixes a constant $400 for each tonne of cocoa from the two countries. So for example, with the 900,000 metric tonnes of cocoa produced last year, it would have fetched about $360 million dollars from the upper level of the supply chain to us here in Ghana at the lower level of the cocoa value chain,” he explained.