TEPA: Ghana will pay cocoa farmers 7,600 cedis ($1,914) per tonne for the 2016/17 season, 11.8 percent higher than the amount it paid last season, deputy finance minister Cassiel Ato Forson said on Saturday as he announced the start of the new season.

Cocoa regulator Cocobod is targeting production of 850,000-900,000 tonnes for the October-September crop year. Officials say the industry fell short of the 850,000-tonne target for the just-ended season.

Copyright Reuters, 2016