The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has stated that it would become self-sufficient for the 2024/2025 cocoa production season, which begins in September 2024.
For the past 32 years, COCOBOD has used offshore borrowing to fund cocoa imports through its cocoa syndication program. However, the organisation is changing its strategy to lessen its reliance on external funding.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, August 20, COCOBOD’s CEO, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, stated that this new method is likely to save $150 million.
“Is it good that always COCOBOD should be heard going to borrow? Are we comfortable with that tag? Today, you have heard that COCOBOD is not going to borrow. It is quite a good time for any human being to learn his or her lessons.
“In 32 years, we have learned our lessons and we think that it is high time we wean ourselves from the offshore international financial markets and then finance the crop ourselves here and that is exactly what we are going to do. And I think it comes with a lot of projectory benefits.
“We are looking for $1.5 billion this crop season and looking at the interest rates last year, which were over 8 percent, plus the cost, it means that we can save more than $150 million by the decision not to go offshore.
He further denied that COCOBOD was undercutting farmers with their cocoa pricing.
“It is not true that COCOBOD is not giving the farmers a fair price. If you follow the narrative, you will notice that from 2017 on, COCOBOD has even been more than fair.
“The government had been more than fair to farmers because this was a time when prices had collapsed but the government and COCOBOD did not reduce the farmers’ price.”
