Ondo slashes cocoa grading fees

The Ondo State government yesterday announced the downward review of the grading fee of cocoa from N5,000 per tone to N3,500.

The state commissioner for Information, Ranti Akerele, who disclosed this at a news briefing on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting in Akure, said this is as a result of the non implementation of an agreement reached by all the 14-cocoa producing states for upward review of grading fee.

He said other cocoa producing states which had not commenced the implementation of the decision to increase the grading fee to N5,000 per tonne had taken advantage of Ondo State as traders had resorted to moving their cocoa beans from Ondo State to neighboring states for grading because of the low grading rates. He said this had affected the state's revenue drive adversely.

Mr Akerele also said the downward review by the state was also as a result of the requests by the Ondo State Cocoa Traders Association for a revisit of the recent hike, in order to make the business attractive and profitable.

"It is a fact that the neighboring Ekiti, Osun, Kogi and Edo States were yet to increase the grading fees," he said.

The commissioner added that the executive council reasoned with the argument of the commissioner for Natural Resources, Remi Olatubora, who canvassed for the downward review.

He, therefore, said upon the consideration of the memo, the council approved that the grading/inspection fee should be N3,500 per metric tonne with the government taking N3,250 and N250 going to the Cocoa Development Fund.