The disconnect between high global cocoa prices and the price paid to farmers has resulted in unprecedented cocoa smuggling across Ghana’s borders. In mid-September, a minibus travelling from Ghana’s capital Accra was intercepted further north-east in the town of Sagakope by the Sogakope District Police and the National Anti-Cocoa Smuggling Taskforce. The vehicle was stopped based on intelligence that the driver was smuggling cocoa beans and headed towards the town of Aflao near the border with Togo. Sixteen bags of cocoa beans were discovered in a hidden roof compartment of the bus. The same vehicle and driver had been intercepted on the same route with same amount of cocoa on September 2. In total, more than 350 bags of cocoa had been seized in September alone, including 238 bags in two trucks believed to be destined for Togo via the sea route. According to data from Ghana’s cocoa board COCOBOD accessed by News Ghana, the country has lost almost half a million tonnes of cocoa …