Cocoa purchases hit 494,960 tonnes

Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) says cocoa purchases at the start of the main crop season reached 494,960 tonnes by end of January.  This represents a fall of 23.9 percent recorded from January last year figure purchases.

Cocobod is conducting a field trip to assess the crop and will decide in coming weeks whether to lower its annual output target.

The purchases, which covered 17 weeks of the main crop season, were lower than the 650,852 tonnes recorded for a period that ended in Janlast year. That period represents the first 15 weeks of last season, Amenyah said. 

Total purchases for the 17th week were 7,637.38 tonnes, he said.

Cocobod aims to buy at least 850,000 tonnes of cocoa in the 2014/15 crop year, which is expected to end in September. “We have had a strange season this year, and we are still working to understand the phenomenon,” its Head of Corporate Affairs Noah Amenyah said.

Mr. Amenyah added that besides dry Harmattan winds hitting the crop this year, there could be other factors responsible for the low yield.