Cocoa farmers in Ghana are smuggling their goods to the neighboring country of Ivory Coast to make ends meet in a time of poor harvests, increased costs, and a falling currency.
This year's cocoa harvest in Ghana is significantly worse than average, and the country's currency, the cedi, has plummeted. At the same time, transportation and production costs have skyrocketed for farmers.
Cocoa farmer Isaac Antwi in Suhum, a few miles from the capital Accra, says he has to smuggle his beans to Ivory Coast to get a reasonable profit, despite prices having recently gone up internationally.
Since the cedi is losing value every day, it simply doesn't pay to sell in Ghana, he tells the AFP news agency.
The prices are better on the other side of the border, and the stronger currency means I can feed my family and pay off my debts.
As the season's harvest is almost complete, it is established that production will land at less than 55 percent of production in an average year, reports the Reuters news agency.
Cocoa farmers in Ghana have to sell their goods to the state-run Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) at fixed prices, but the money doesn't cover the rising costs, according to the farmers.
Cocoa farmer Dennis Nyameke explains the economics.
A bag of cocoa sells for at least $137 in Ghana, but when we smuggle it to Ivory Coast, we can get close to $152, he tells AFP.
With four children to take care of, I can't afford to ignore the difference.
Over a million people are dependent on the cocoa industry in Ghana, which has over 33 million inhabitants.
