The Bank of Ghana has expressed concern over the attainment of the 2009/2010 major season target for cocoa production. Government through COCOBOD - the sector regulator has set a target of 650,000 tonnes of cocoa purchases for the major season which ends in May this year. But the Central Bank's Governor, Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, said that target may well be missed. His reason was that by the first week of this month, only 518,304 tonnes of cocoa had been purchased compared to 562,538 tonnes at the same time during the 2008/2009 crop season. ''The crop size at the close of the 2008/2009 season was 634,256 tonnes," he said. Speaking at the latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the Bank of Ghana last week, Mr. Amissah-Arthur said merchandised export of cocoa beans and products for the first quarter of this year earned the country US$704.1 million. This compared with a 35.9 percent rise in the export of cocoa beans and products in 2009. Concerns for reduced cocoa production have been heightened by reported increases in cocoa smuggling activities along the western corridor of the country and unfavourable weather conditions. Currently, eight Customs and Excise Preventive Service (CEPS), a police officer and an official of the Bureau of National Investigation are standing trial for aiding people to smuggle cocoa out of the country to neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire. Last week, the Licenced Cocoa Buyers Association of Ghana (LCBAG) condemned the activities of cocoa smugglers through the Western and Eastern borders of the country, stressing that the act impacts negatively on the national economy. The President of the Association, Nana Adade Boamah, said the act of smuggling threatened the existence of licenced cocoa buying companies in particular and the cocoa industry in general. "Our high investments in weighing scales, tarpaulins, vehicles, depots and personnel stand the risk of withering away if we stand aloof whilst the smugglers have a field-day. Our interest is directly linked to the interest of cocoa farmers, the cocoa haulers, COCOBOD, and the government," he said. Source: B&FT