The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahene Aidoo, has disclosed that Ghana has suffered a staggering loss of 120,000 metric tons of cocoa beans to smuggling between 2022 and 2023.
This alarming figure poses a severe threat to the cocoa industry, a vital pillar of the national economy.
Speaking at a news conference organised by the Ministry of Information in Accra on Monday, Mr. Aidoo expressed deep concern over the rising trend of cocoa smuggling, noting that this persistent issue has worsened in recent years, largely due to attractive prices offered by neighbouring countries.
“About 100 to 120,000 metric tons of cocoa was smuggled out of Ghana, especially in the last two years. Now for last year and this year in particular, this has been so,” he revealed.
Mr. Aidoo added that, “This has been so because the international market trading system is inverted. When you say it is inverted, it means that today, the spot price has become more appreciable.”
Despite ongoing efforts by COCOBOD and other government agencies, Mr. Aidoo lamented that little progress has been made in combatting this illegal trade.
The implications of this smuggling crisis extend far beyond lost revenue; it threatens the sustainability and global reputation of Ghana’s cocoa industry, which is essential for the livelihoods of many Ghanaians.
Zero borrowing for cocoa purchase
In a historic shift from the norm, the COCOBOD said it has not raised the annual syndicated loan to finance the purchases of cocoa beans for the 2024/25 crop season which began on September 1.
This marked the first time in 32 years that the cocoa sector manager and regulator will be self-financing its major operation, breaking away from its reliance on the syndicated loan from mainly foreign banks to finance the purchase of cocoa beans.
“For the first time in the history of COCOBOD, we want to wean ourselves from the offshore syndication.
“We want to self-finance this year’s cocoa purchases. Since 1992, COCOBOD has always gone offshore to borrow from a consortium of banks and 32 years is quite a good time for any human being to learn his or her lessons,” he stated.
$150 million savings
Mr Aidoo said the decision not to access the loan this year would save the board about $150 million which it would have paid as interest on the loans in addition to expenses to be incurred to organise a road show.
Following the country’s debt restructuring activities and some global developments, interest on the cocoa syndicated loan went up last year to over eight per cent, the highest in decades.
“This year, we were planning to raise $1.5 billion, looking at interest rates last year which was over eight per cent and other costs, it means we can save about $150 million by just not going so for the first time, we will not go,” Mr Aidoo said.
