Government on Friday announced an upward adjustment in the producer price of cocoa to GH¢ 3,392 per tonne from GH¢ 3,280 per tonne with effect from October 12, despite falling world market prices for the commodity. Finance Minister, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, said the amount translates to GH¢ 212 per bag of 64 kilogramme and represented 78.42 percent of the net Free on Board (FOB) price. He said government remained committed to ensuring that the welfare of cocoa farmers was continuously enhanced even in the face of declining world cocoa prices. Cocoa prices have declined from 3,000 dollars in 2011/12 to 2,300 dollars in 2012/13 season. To meet the new producer price, Dr Duffuor said government had decided to reduce its share of the 2012/13 cocoa export duty in order to raise the money for the increased earnings. “This decision was taken to increase the earnings of farmers to enhance their welfare,” he said, adding that, government would continue to support other interventions, including the pests and diseases control for farmers and hi-tech programmes to ensure that the envious record of the Ghanaian cocoa industry was sustained. Dr Duffuor said government was committed to the rehabilitation of cocoa and coffee farms, the provision of 20 million free improved seedlings every year to farmers for the next five years as well as scholarship awards for children of cocoa farmers in second cycle institutions. The Producer Price Review Committee also maintained other rates and fees, including the buyers’ margin, hauliers’ rate, warehousing and internal marketing costs as well as fees for disinfestations, grading and sealing at last year’s levels.