The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Majority Caucus has revealed that COCOBOD entered 2025 with a cumulative debt of GH¢32.9 billion, prompting urgent reforms by the current government to restore financial stability.
Speaking to journalists, Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Isaac Adongo, said, “Great leaders take bold, solid and decisive actions by introducing the needed reforms where necessary to foster an environment where accountability is a core value. This is exactly what Ghanaians expected when NPP collapsed COCOBOD during the heydays of H.E Nana Addo and Dr. Bawumia.”
Since taking action, the government has cleared GH¢3.4 billion of loans and converted major obligations, including amounts owed to the Ministry of Finance and Bank of Ghana, into equity instruments. Remaining liabilities mainly consist of cocoa bonds, bills, and a US$70 million bridge facility.
The reforms aim to relieve COCOBOD’s balance sheet, restore positive equity, and allow the Board to focus on core cocoa operations.
According to Adongo, the government’s reset, initiated in February 2026, is designed “to restore financial viability, rebuild farmer confidence, and reposition COCOBOD as a disciplined commercial institution capable of sustaining national output and value addition.”
COCOBOD’s financial stress stems from misaligned pricing, excessive debt accumulation, operational inefficiencies, and structural weaknesses that intensified between 2017 and 2024.
The sector also faced a historic global cocoa price collapse of roughly 76 percent between January 2025 and February 2026.
At the start of the 2025/26 season, COCOBOD had forward-sold about 530,000 tonnes of cocoa, representing 82 percent of the projected crop, at an average FOB price near US$7,200 per tonne.
Only a small portion of sales remained exposed to spot prices during the global price collapse. Previous over-commitments in 2023/24 had created costly roll-overs, further burdening the organization’s finances.
Adongo stressed that the reforms are necessary to address the inherited debt, stabilize operations, and ensure COCOBOD can continue to drive Ghana’s cocoa production and value addition effectively.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
