Ghana’s Loan Repayment Delays Threaten Cocoa Bean Purchases
Ghana’s cocoa sector is facing renewed financial strain after delays in repaying more than $400 million in loans taken from cocoa traders over the past two harvest seasons. The situation raises concerns that the country may struggle to secure sufficient funding to purchase cocoa beans from farmers in the upcoming season, potentially tightening global supply.
According to people familiar with the matter, the funds were borrowed by the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) from both domestic and international licensed buying companies ahead of the 2023–24 and 2024–25 harvests. These loans were used to finance the purchase of cocoa beans from farmers after Ghana was unable to secure its traditional syndicated loan from international lenders.
However, repayment of those loans has been delayed because Cocobod’s new leadership, appointed last year, is conducting an audit of existing contracts before authorizing payments. The delay has reportedly made it more difficult for traders and licensed buying companies to obtain fresh financing for the next crop cycle.
Ghana is the second largest cocoa producer in the world and operates a tightly regulated cocoa marketing system in which Cocobod purchases beans from farmers through licensed buying companies and then exports them to international markets. The regulator typically relies on an annual syndicated loan from international banks to finance these operations, including the purchase of beans, the distribution of subsidized fertilizers, and support for farmers.
That long standing financing system collapsed in 2024 just as global cocoa prices surged because of severe supply shortages across West Africa. Without access to the usual syndicated loan, Cocobod turned to cocoa traders for financing in order to maintain purchasing operations.
The outstanding debt now risks disrupting the flow of funds needed to buy beans from farmers and meet export commitments to international buyers. Any disruption in Ghana’s purchasing system could further strain the already fragile global cocoa supply chain.
Cocobod’s financial pressures are also linked to earlier forward sales agreements. Industry sources say the regulator rolled over approximately 334,000 tons of cocoa from the 2023–24 season into later seasons at a price of about $2,660 per ton, far below the record global prices reached during the 2024 cocoa rally. As a result, Ghana was unable to benefit from the historic price surge that pushed futures close to $13,000 per ton at their peak.
The regulator still has roughly 90,000 tons of cocoa outstanding under these contracts.
Earlier this year Cocobod temporarily halted cocoa purchases as global cocoa futures dropped sharply. Buying operations resumed last month after the government cut the official price paid to farmers by nearly one third, bringing the domestic purchasing price more closely in line with international market levels.
While cocoa prices have fallen significantly from their historic highs, financial challenges within Ghana’s cocoa sector could still influence supply conditions and price dynamics in the global cocoa market in the months ahead.
