In the late 1800s, cocoa made its way to Ghana.
The cocoa tree was brought to West Africa in the 1840s by São Tomé and Brazil, despite being native to Central and South America.
Dutch missionaries cultivated cocoa in Ghana (then known as the Gold Coast) between the 1810s and 1850s, but Tetteh Quarshie, a blacksmith from Ghana, is credited with bringing cocoa to the nation in 1879 after returning from Fernando Po (now Bioko, Equatorial Guinea) with Amelonado cocoa pods.
Cocoa farming
He (Tetteh Quarshie) founded a farm in Ghana’s eastern district of Mampong-Akwapim, and farmers across the country began growing cocoa.
To increase productivity, Governor Sir William Bradford Griffith imported more pods and seedlings from São Tomé in 1886.
Particularly in the Ashanti, Brong, Ahafo, Western, Western North, and Eastern regions of Ghana, cocoa had become a significant cash crop by the early 20th century, with Ghana producing hundreds of thousands of tons a year.
The economy of Ghana depends heavily on cocoa, the country’s main cash crop, which accounts for about one-third of its export earnings and is the second-largest export after gold.
It supports the livelihoods of about one million cocoa farmers in Ghana.
Cocoa funds the construction of roads in cocoa-growing areas (Cocoa Roads Improvement Project) and health infrastructure.
Benefits
Furthermore, COCOBOD annually allocates approximately GH¢2 million towards cocoa scholarships from primary to tertiary education for children of cocoa farmers, with around 2,500 beneficiaries having benefited from the scheme so far.
Presently, over 70 per cent of global cocoa comes from West Africa, with Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire producing nearly 60 per cent of the world’s supply.
Currently, Ghana is the second largest producer of cocoa in the world, after Côte d’Ivoire.
Moreover, Ghana is a major exporter of raw cocoa beans and other refined goods, such as cocoa creams, soap and drinks, to other countries to earn revenue.
Adding values
This has significantly improved the country’s economy. Ghana was able to process and refined roughly 22 per cent of its cocoa beans between 2008 and 2016 for use in the manufacture of chocolate, creams, soap, drinks and many other items.
However, between 2017 and 2024, the value of Ghana’s refined raw cocoa beans relative to other products, as mentioned earlier, climbed from 22 per cent to 42 per cent, a trend that could be further improved.
Pricing
In addition, Ghana’s cocoa prices varied within a comparatively constant range of roughly $1,900–$3,500 per tonne throughout most of the 2010–2023 period.
Seasonal supply, currency exchange rates and worldwide demand were all reflected in this cyclical pattern. But costs started to rise sharply in late 2022.
Cocoa prices had risen six times from 2022 levels to an all-time high of almost $10,000 per tonne by December 2024.
The COCOABOD of Ghana raised the price of cocoa per bag to GH¢3,100 during the 2024–2025 crop season and then to GH¢3,600 in October 2025.
However, due to the precipitous decline in cocoa prices on the global market, COCOABOD has lowered the farm-gate price per bag from GH¢3,600 to GH¢2,580 for farmers.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh
