The increase in smuggling of cocoa is a serious problem for the Ghanaian economy. In order to combat this smuggling and improve the situation of farmers, the Ghanaian government has increased the price of cocoa by almost half. 

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the state is now guaranteeing producers a price of around 174 euros for a 64-kilogramme bag of cocoa beans in this year's harvest season. This is an increase of 45 per cent. Ghana is the second largest cocoa producer in the world after the Ivory Coast.

However, the world market price is around €5,800 per tonne, i.e. around €380 per 64kg bag. In Ghana, where the state sets the price and farmers have to sell their harvest to the state-run COCOBOD (Cocoa Marketing Board), a growing number of producers is therefore trying to smuggle the cocoa beans out of the country and sell them there. The current price increase is intended to put a stop to this.

The cocoa sector accounts for around ten per cent of the country's gross domestic product. Around one million people in Ghana live from cocoa farming.