COCOBOD dismisses claims of international market exclusion, defends $1.4bn domestic financing shift

The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has dismissed claims that its decision to raise $1.4 billion from domestic investors to finance cocoa purchases for the 2026/2027 season is because it has been shut out of the international market.

The financing, equivalent to about GH¢16.3 billion, marks a shift from COCOBOD’s traditional reliance on international borrowing to pre-finance cocoa purchases.

Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Point of View on Monday, September 28, 2026, the Deputy CEO of COCOBOD in charge of Finance and Administration, Ato Boateng, said the decision was a deliberate change in strategy based on lessons from previous financing arrangements.

He said several international banks had approached COCOBOD about returning to the international market since he assumed office.

“Since I took this position over 18 months ago, I’ve had a lot of international banks coming to Cocoa Board to talk about Cocoa Board re-entering the market at the international level… It is not that we are forced out of the market. Yes, we had a crisis that pushed us out of the market. But beyond the crisis, they came back. And then, given what we also saw, we changed strategy,” he told host Bernard Avle.

Mr Boateng said he had resisted the calls because he was dissatisfied with the behaviour of some international financiers during COCOBOD’s financial difficulties.

“I don’t like fair-weather friends. You don’t run away from Cocoa Board when we have difficulties, and then when we have weathered those difficulties, then you show up,” he said.

He also cited COCOBOD’s previous reliance on international cocoa buyers to finance purchases through the buyer-financed model.

Under the arrangement, international buyers provided funds through COCOBOD to licensed buying companies (LBCs) to purchase cocoa beans from farmers.

However, Mr Boateng said the model exposed Ghana’s cocoa purchasing system to fluctuations in international markets.

“When the prices dropped, these international guys moved away from Ghana. They stopped funding the beans. And then they created the problem that we saw,” he said.

He said COCOBOD therefore decided to reduce its dependence on international financing and explore domestic sources to fund cocoa purchases.

“Why would I place my financial strategy on boys and girls that I cannot really rely on?” he asked.

Mr Boateng said COCOBOD subsequently presented its proposed financing strategy to the Ministry of Finance, which took it to Cabinet, where the decision was made for the board to explore domestic sources of financing.

The new funding plan follows the collapse of COCOBOD’s decade-old syndicated loan arrangement with international banks during the 2023/24 cocoa season and the failure of a separate arrangement involving international trading houses to pre-finance cocoa purchases last season.

COCOBOD’s operating revenue rose to GH¢48.6 billion in 2025 from GH¢15.8 billion in 2024, while its net profit margin improved to 10.4% from a negative 35.1%.

The proposed domestic financing is expected to support cocoa purchases for the 2026/2027 season, settle outstanding obligations and provide greater stability in financing the cocoa sector.