Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has ruled out increasing the producer price and bonus for cocoa farmers for the 2016/17 crop seasoning after a drop in the price of cocoa on the international market.

This was made known by the Chief Executive Officer COCOBOD, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, in an interview with Accra-based Joy FM.

It has been reported that the price fall has cost the economy $1 billion in revenue.

Mr Aidoo said measures are being put in place to forestall any effect on production next season, adding that farmers would be guaranteed their minimum price.

Early this week, Ghana and Ivory Coast, the two largest producers of cocoa, took steps to tackle cocoa price volatility.

Ivory Coast produced a total of 1.7 million metric tonnes of cocoa and Ghana produced some 840,000 tonnes in 2016 production year.

Ghana is targeting to hit one million metric tonnes for the 2016/2017 production year.

During the Cocoa and Coffee Council meeting in Abidjan, the two top cocoa producing countries have therefore agreed to deepen collaboration and coordinate their production strategies in order to tackle price volatility.

Massandje Toure-Litse, director general of the Coffee and Cocoa Council of Ivory Coast reportedly told journalists in Abidjan.

“It’s become imperative that our countries take decisions on points concerning production and sustainability and on points concerning the prickly question of the volatility of prices.”

Africa produces about 75 per cent of the world’s cocoa, but only 20 per cent of the grinding process takes place in Africa.

With Africa's annual $100 billion value of the world’s chocolate industry, only two per cent comes to Africa.

Meanwhile, about 85 percent of the cocoa feeding the multi-billion euro chocolate industry in The Netherlands comes from African countries, with Ghana and Ivory Coast being the largest producers.

In 2015, The Netherlands exported €2.8 billion worth of chocolate, semi-finished and cocoa butter products.