By D. Abraham Cooper
GRAND GEDEH COUNTY – The Coordinator of the Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority (LACRA), Mr. Jairus D. Mitchell, has strongly refuted allegations that the agency is imposing unlawful charges on cocoa buyers in the region.
Speaking during an interview with this paper at the LACRA County Office, Mitchell addressed recent claims made by cocoa buyers, who accused the authority of demanding huge sums of money without clear justification.
“These claims are simply not true,” Mitchell said. “LACRA does not charge, receive, or collect any money from cocoa buyers for bringing cocoa to the market whether within Grand Gedeh or nationally.”
He clarified that LACRA’s mandate is to regulate the cocoa, coffee, and oil palm sectors, not to extort producers or traders. According to Mitchell, the only fees the agency collects are official charges for permits and licenses, which are processed at LACRA’s head office in Monrovia, not at the county level.
Mitchell outlined the following licensed-based charges:
US$1,000 for a cooperative agency permit
US$310 per agent, including US$300 for the certificate and US$10 for an ID card
“These permits are mandatory for agencies and agents operating in the cocoa sector, but none of these payments are collected in Grand Gedeh,” he emphasized.
In addition to licensing, Mitchell explained that LACRA collects royalty fees from registered exporters. These royalties, he said, are not fixed but are based on the value of consignments during the export process, and are paid only by licensed export companies.
Mitchell reaffirmed that the Grand Gedeh office’s role is strictly regulatory and administrative, not financial.
“We want to make it absolutely clear: cocoa buyers in Grand Gedeh are not being charged by LACRA for trading or transporting cocoa,” he said.
The response comes as tension grows among local cocoa stakeholders, with some demanding greater transparency from the government on agricultural policy enforcement.
Mitchell concluded by urging cocoa actors to seek accurate information from the appropriate LACRA office and avoid misinformation that could undermine confidence in the sector.
