Claim: Cocoa price reached $13,000 somewhere in 2025
Source: Dennis Miracles Aboagye
Verdict: False
Researched by Nusrat Essah
The Director of Communications for the Bawumia Campaign, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, claimed that the international market price of cocoa reached $13,000 in 2025.
He made this claim while speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile programme on February 28, 2026.
“As at October, when they stopped paying the cocoa farmers, the cocoa price on the international market at that time was around $7000. As at August 2025, when they announced the new cocoa prices, cocoa price was around $7200. The average for the year, it was around $7000. Indeed, at some point in 2025, cocoa price went all the way to $13,000,” he said. (watch from 2hours: 41mins: 40secs)
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This report seeks to verify whether the international price of cocoa ever hit $13,000 in 2025. The report will also verify whether the price was around $7,200 in August and $7,000 in October 2025.
Fact-Check
To get world market prices of the commodity, GhanaFact reviewed the monthly cocoa market reports published by the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO), an intergovernmental organisation established in 1973 under the auspices of the United Nations to promote and support the sustainability of the global cocoa sector. They publish monthly data on the cocoa price on the world market.
There are two primary markets for international cocoa pricing, which are the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Futures Europe (London) and the ICE Futures US (New York). While both serve the same commodity, they serve different geographical regions.
The New York market is the primary benchmark for cocoa from South Asia and America, while the London market is the global benchmark for African cocoa. Therefore, Ghana’s cocoa pricing is based on the London international market.
Did the cocoa price ever reach $13, 000 in 2025?
According to the ICCO reports reviewed, the highest recorded price in 2025 occurred in January, peaking at US$11,510 by the end of January. At no point in 2025 did the ICCO data show prices reaching US$13,000 per tonne in either London or New York.
January 2025 recorded prices above US$11,000, before dropping in February, with the lowest drop in Q1 at the beginning of March. By the beginning of April, prices were above US$9000 and plateaued from May to the end of June.
There was a sharp drop in July to a little above US$7000, but it was a downward trajectory from August, September, October and November, ending with the lowest price of a little above US$5,000. It was only in December that the price went above US$6,000.
Based on the findings above, Miracles Aboagye’s claim that the international price of cocoa reached US$13,000 in 2025 is False. The highest recorded was between US$11,107 and US$11,510.
Claims about August and October prices
The August 2025 price stood at US$7,285 per tonne and ended at US$7,191. This means the “about $7,200” claim by Miracles is True.
Also, at the beginning of October 2025, the price of cocoa began at US$6,320 and ended at US$5,808. This shows that prices were below 7,000 throughout October 2025.
While his claim that the price of cocoa was around $7,200 in August is true, the price he stated for October (around $7,000) is false. The actual price for October was between US$5,808 and US$6,320.
Verdict
Therefore, the claim that cocoa prices hit US$13,000 in 2025 is False.
NB: We reached out to Miracles Aboagye via Facebook Messenger, his response will be incorporated in this report once he replies us.
