Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has highlighted financial challenges in the cocoa sector during a presser on February 12, 2026.
“The current situation is largely driven by the unwillingness of buyers to purchase Ghana’s cocoa because it has become uncompetitive and very expensive,” he said.
Forson explained the role of the financing model: “Under the model introduced in 2024-2025, buyers financed the purchase of cocoa. By 2022, Cocoa Board finances had deteriorated badly.
It defaulted and restructured the cocoa bills in 2023. For the first time in history, the annual syndicated loan suffered significant delays due to a loss of confidence in the Ghana economy and the sector.”
He added, “The first tranche was received on 22nd December 2023, four months after the commencement of the season.
Cocoa Board projected an output of 800,000 tons and committed 786,672 tons in contracts for the 2023 and 2024 crop seasons.
However, actual production was 432,145 tons, a deviation of over 45 percent.”
Forson said the combination of uncompetitive prices and liquidity constraints created major challenges, and the emergency Cabinet meeting discussed potential reforms to stabilize the sector.
