Ghana could produce about 492,000 metric tons of cocoa beans in the 2023/2024 crop season, about 27.9% less than the 683,000 metric tons of cocoa beans recorded in the 2022/2023, some stakeholders within the cocoa industry have told Joy Business on condition of anonymity.

The falling cocoa production is due to illegal gold mining, adverse weather conditions, smuggling activities, and the prevalence of swollen shoot disease.

In the 2021/2022 crop season, the country produced about 750,000 metric tons of cocoa beans. Since then, cocoa production has taken a nose dive.

A careful analysis shows that the country’s cocoa production has been dwindling for the past three years. This may continue if drastic measures are not instituted by the regulator, Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and other stakeholders.

Reuters had reported that Ghana’s cocoa output for the 2023/24 season is expected to go down by almost 40%, below a target of 820,000 metric tons.

This could have implications for the country’s trade surplus since cocoa is one of the major traditional export earnings.

Expressing concerns over the production shortfall, the first source told Reuters that strong seasonal winds and insufficient rainfall have exacerbated the situation, with the current output forecasted to be about 500,000 tons for the season.

Addressing the challenges, the source noted, “Unfortunately, the cause of the decline is not one that could be remedied immediately through human intervention.”

The regulator disclosed earlier this month that the cocoa swollen shoot virus had devastated approximately 500,000 hectares of cocoa farmlands.

Despite the current predicament, the second source remains optimistic about Ghana’s potential for production recovery. However, COCOBOD was not available for comment on the matter.