Ghana forecasts 16% fall in cocoa production following bad weather and disease

Ghana is warning of a sharp drop in cocoa production next season, with output expected to fall by at least 16 percent.

The country's cocoa regulator says a combination of erratic weather, crop disease and the cocoa tree's natural low-yield cycle is behind the decline.

Heavy rains, the threat of El Niño, and swollen shoot disease have all taken a toll on farms, particularly in the Western and Western North regions, which produce more than half of Ghana's cocoa.

Illegal gold mining is also worsening the crisis, with cocoa farms increasingly being taken over by miners.

COCOBOD says it's expanding disease control, restoring infected farms and bringing back free fertilizer to help farmers recover.

The warning comes as neighbouring Ivory Coast, the world's largest cocoa producer, is also forecasting a significant drop in output, raising fresh concerns over global cocoa supplies.