COCOBOD Proposes Domestic Cocoa Bond to End Offshore Borrowing
The Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board, Randy Abbey, has outlined sweeping financing reforms aimed at ending decades of reliance on foreign borrowing to fund Ghana’s cocoa purchases.
Dr. Abbey and his top management team presented the proposals during a high-level meeting with the Council of State at Jubilee House, seeking support for what he described as an “economic reset” of the cocoa sector.
For more than 30 years, COCOBOD has depended on offshore syndicated loans, using future cocoa harvests as collateral to secure billions of dollars from international banks. While the model ensured liquidity to purchase beans from farmers, Dr. Abbey argued that it has constrained Ghana’s industrial ambitions.
“The current cocoa collateralization model does not sufficiently promote local value addition. It has created a system where our best beans are locked into export markets to service foreign loans,” he stated.
According to him, this arrangement has limited access to quality cocoa for local processors, undermining efforts to build a robust domestic chocolate and cocoa-products industry.
To address this, COCOBOD is proposing a Domestic Cocoa Bond and a revolving liquidity fund that would raise capital within Ghana’s financial market. “When we localize the financing, the interest payments stay within our banking system, stimulating the national economy,” Dr. Abbey explained.
He added that the new framework would allow prompt payment to farmers while reducing high arrangement fees associated with international syndication. Savings, he said, could be redirected into improved farm-gate prices and social interventions, including the Cocoa Farmer Pension Scheme.
The reforms align with the government’s broader industrialization agenda and its target of processing at least 50 percent of cocoa locally.
“This is not just about financing; it is about sovereignty. When Ghana controls the financing of its cocoa, it controls the destination of its beans,” Dr. Abbey emphasized.
If approved, the new financing structure is expected to take effect by the 2026/2027 crop season, marking a significant shift in Ghana’s cocoa economy.
