COCOBOD Briefs GHIB on Shift From Syndicated Loan to Pension Funds, Local Bonds for Cocoa Financing

The Ghana Cocoa Board has briefed the Ghana International Bank on plans to move away from the over 30-year-old cocoa syndicated loan to a new domestic funding model anchored on pension funds and cedi-denominated commercial papers.

COBOD Chief Executive, Dr Ransford Anertey Abbey, and his management team received a GHIB delegation at Cocoa House on Wednesday to discuss the new funding arrangements for the 2025/26 crop year.

Dr Abbey said the syndicated loan facility was no longer sustainable due to exposure to world cocoa price volatility, climate uncertainty, and its failure to support domestic value addition. He noted the current model locks up nearly 80% of Ghana’s cocoa output.

“The shift in policy in this regard forms part of the government’s wider cocoa sector reform agenda to raise money domestically for cocoa operations,” he said.

COCOBOD has engaged fund advisors and managers to work out modalities for utilising pension funds and issuing cedi-denominated commercial papers/notes to finance cocoa purchases.

Dr Abbey stated that the new model is expected to fund the 2026/27 crop beginning in August, and expressed optimism it would be oversubscribed and raise the needed funds for the regulator.

He also hinted at efforts to rally Nigeria and Cameroon to join the existing Ghana-Côte d’Ivoire alliance to boost local value addition across member states while maintaining control over about 70% of global cocoa output.

The COCOBOD CEO further outlined plans to support local processing companies to add value to raw cocoa and reduce the export of raw beans.

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