Last Friday, the government of Ghana set the minimum price it would pay farmers for the 2011-2012 harvest at US$2000/MT.
The price of the beans has been falling on global markets and the government has sacrificed part of its export tax share to help farmers, Finance Minister KwabenaDuffuor said at a news conference [Friday, Oct 14] in Accra, the capital.
[FYI, the market price for cocoa on Friday was US$2664.96/MT down from US$3471/MT just this past February. World market commodity prices have been consistently above US$2000/MT since November, 2007.
I wonder if there is any "coincidence" in the Ghanaian government setting the floor at the same price as the FT floor and wonder what the floor is/was prior to this announcement. It also makes you wonder what the real differences are between the farm gate prices, the local market prices, any government-controlled pricing, and the export/world market prices.
It's a lot more complicated than a single number.
[On-line source for cocoa bean pricing .]
Notes about pricing in neighboring Ivory Coast.
See also this Reuters story on the Ivorian government ending consultations with cocoa exporters and farmers on planned reforms to the sector that will guarantee its hundreds of thousands of smallholders a minimum selling price.
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clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/
updated by @clay: 04/10/15 18:03:51