Food and agribusiness minister-designate, Eric Opoku, has told a parliamentary committee that Ghana postponed the delivery of 370,000 metric tons of cocoa for the 2023/24 season due to lower-than-expected production

This is an increase from the 350,000 tons that were previously reported by Reuters.

This delay, which shifts the delivery from the 2023/24 season to the ongoing season, is a result of a significant drop in cocoa production to its lowest level in two decades, Opoku explained during his vetting session in parliament.

Earlier in June, Reuters had reported that Ghana, the second-largest cocoa producer globally, was considering delaying the delivery of up to 350,000 tons of cocoa beans to the next season due to poor crop yields.

Cocoa production in Ghana reached its peak in 2021 with over 1 million tons, but the figure has steadily declined since then, hitting its lowest point last season.

Experts attribute the decline to climate change and tree diseases, while many farmers also point to the government's failure to address illegal gold mining, which has devastated large areas of the country's cocoa-producing regions.

Opoku noted that production in the 2023/24 season fell to "the lowest in two decades," with figures from the cocoa marketing board (COCOBOD) showing production levels below 550,000 tons.

The reduced cocoa output also caused Cocobod to default on the repayment of an $800 million loan taken from international lenders to finance cocoa purchases for the season.

COCOBOD was unavailable for comment at the time of writing.