Cabinet has identified uncompetitive pricing, financing constraints and longstanding liquidity challenges at COCOBOD as the main factors driving the current difficulties in Ghana’s cocoa sector.

According to the findings, buyers have become reluctant to purchase Ghana’s cocoa because it has grown uncompetitive on the international market. Cocoa from other producing countries is now selling at prices significantly lower than Ghana’s producer price.

At the same time, COCOBOD lacked the liquidity to purchase cocoa from farmers and stock beans for hedging or other trading decisions. This situation stems from a financing model introduced in the 2024/25 season after the syndicated loan failed, under which buyers, or off-takers, financed purchases.

The challenges, however, predate the current season. By 2022, COCOBOD’s finances had deteriorated significantly, leading to a default and the restructuring of Cocoa Bills in 2023.

On Wednesday, February 11, 2026, Cabinet convened an emergency session to review developments in the cocoa sector. 

For the first time, the annual cocoa syndication in 2023 experienced major delays due to reduced confidence in the Ghanaian economy, with the first tranche received on 22nd December 2023, four months after the start of the season.

During the 2023/24 crop season, COCOBOD projected output of 800,000 tonnes and committed 786,672 tonnes in contracts. Actual production, however, stood at 432,145 tonnes, representing a 45 per cent deviation from projections. Crop forecast variations typically range between 5 and 15 per cent, making the shortfall unprecedented.

The production gap resulted in rollover contracts of 333,767 tonnes at an average price of US$2,661 per tonne, leading to losses of over US$1 billion that would otherwise have gone to cocoa farmers and other stakeholders.

In 2024, COCOBOD was unable to pay the final tranche of the syndicated loan due in July and secured a US$70 million bridge financing facility from the Ministry of Finance to avert a default. Despite committing to repay the facility, COCOBOD defaulted, further underscoring the organisation’s financial difficulties. The debt has since been inherited by the current management.