A Toyota Coaster bus carrying thirty (30) bags of cocoa beans allegedly being smuggled was intercepted by the Central Region Police Command on Monday, July 21.

It is reported that the driver of the bus, Bernard Owusu Agyemang, was unable to produce documentation for the cargo but revealed that he was tasked by one Martin to deliver the bags to a woman in Mankessim when officers stationed at the Brimso Police checkpoint stopped the vehicle.

Regional Commander Deputy Superintendent of Police (DCOP) Kofi Adu noted that an investigation will be conducted to apprehend those responsible for the unlawful activity. He called on members of the general public to assist the police with its investigations.

The seized bags of cocoa beans have been handed over to the Cape Coast office of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) for assessment. They were received by Principal Quality Control Officer Maxwell Ntiamoah.

The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) earlier revealed that in June and July, its anti-cocoa smuggling taskforce made significant strides in cracking down on the activities of syndicates involved in cocoa smuggling.

The two months saw the seizure of some 216 bags of cocoa beans that were being smuggled across the border to Togo. This was possible due to four separate operations at Zebila and Bolga in the Upper East Region.

The most recent activity led by the taskforce was on Saturday, July 5. The taskforce intercepted 15 bags of cocoa beans at Maame Wata in the Asuogyaman District of the Eastern Region, also bound for Togo.

Several suspects have been arrested and are currently assisting police with investigations. Last year, Reuters reported that Ghana lost about 160,000 tonnes of cocoa to smuggling during the 2023/2024 crop season.

Presently, COCOBOD is working with Parliament to strengthen laws on cocoa smuggling. This is to introduce harsher sanctions to deter many from engaging in such unlawful acts. The Bank of Ghana’s Summary of Macroeconomic and Financial Data for March 2025 revealed that cocoa exports soared by 126 per cent.

Meanwhile, COCOBOD has urged Ghanaians to support its efforts to stop cocoa smuggling and help safeguard the vital national resource.

"Report suspicious persons to the nearest police station or the Ghana Cocoa Board. Together, we can protect the livelihood of our hardworking farmers and sustain Ghana’s cocoa legacy," the Board noted in a post on Facebook.

Presently, COCOBOD is grappling with a staggering debt of GH¢32.5 billion, with GH¢9.7 billion due by the end of September, President John Dramani Mahama has revealed. Delivering the 2025 State of the Nation Address in Parliament, he painted a bleak picture of the cocoa sector’s finances, warning of massive revenue losses for both COCOBOD and Ghanaian farmers.

According to Mahama, COCOBOD’s financial woes deepened in the 2023/24 crop season when it failed to supply 333,767 metric tonnes of cocoa that had been pre-sold at $2,600 per tonne. Ghana earned more from cocoa exports in 2024, despite a sharp decline in the volume of beans shipped, according to the Auditor General’s latest report on the Bank of Ghana’s foreign exchange performance for the year ending December 31, 2024.

Comparatively, Ghana exported less cocoa in 2024 than it did in 2023, about half as many raw cocoa beans and fewer processed cocoa products like butter, paste, and powder.

However, despite the decline in exports, Ghana still made more money from cocoa exports, about 37.5% more in 2024 than the previous year. The increase in earnings despite the decline in the export of beans last year has been attributed to the increase in prices of cocoa on the global level, and the fair sales of processed cocoa products still sold fairly well.

A major concern stated in the report was the decline in inflows from syndicated cocoa loans. The report noted that in 2024, Ghana’s inflows from syndicated cocoa loans dropped dramatically, from US$681 million in 2023 to just US$50 million. This represents a staggering decline of over 92 percent, and the US$50 million received was not even part of the usual pre-export financing package. Instead, it came from non-collateralised loan proceeds used to pay interest on Ghana Cocoa Board’s (COCOBOD) existing debt.

The sharp drop in loan money shows that it is now harder to get funding and that COCOBOD chose to buy cocoa with its own money for the 2024/2025 season. This is a big change, because for the past 32 years, COCOBOD has always used syndicated loans to pay for cocoa purchases.

The report also explained that the US$50 million wasn’t from the usual loan arrangement that Ghana uses to support cocoa exports. Instead, it came from a different type of loan that wasn't backed by collateral, and it was mainly used to pay interest on COCOBOD’s debt.

The Bank of Ghana anticipated about US$1 billion earnings from cocoa in 2024, but actually earned US$1.73 billion, which is over US$734 million more than expected. This marks a 73% increase in cocoa earnings over its 2024 forecast. Cocoa contributed 14.47 percent of Ghana’s total foreign exchange earnings of US$11.99 billion in 2024. The decline in production volumes despite the rise in earnings raises questions about long-term sustainability.

As good as the increase in earnings appears, it is temporary, as concerns have been raised about an unexpected decline in cocoa prices on the global level, which is expected to potentially affect how the sector would perform if prices drop and output levels remain low. The fall in syndicated loan inflows also points to tighter financing conditions for Ghana’s cocoa industry. Without strong investment in production and support for farmers, stakeholders worry the gains made in 2024 may not last.

Cocoa contributes significantly to Ghana’s GDP, export earnings, and employment. In some years, it has accounted for over 25% of merchandise export revenue and 4.5% of total GDP. The sector directly supports over 800,000 farm families, and indirectly sustains millions more through transport, processing, and trade. It also plays a key role in rural development, with COCOBOD investing in schools, clinics, and infrastructure in cocoa-growing areas.

In May this year, Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, during the inauguration of an eleven-member Board of Directors for the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), announced the government’s plans to introduce plantation farms by acquiring about 200,000 hectares of cocoa land.

This, he said, is aimed at restoring cocoa production levels to 1 million metric tonnes. Per reports, the country's cocoa production has declined to a little above 500,000 tonnes in 2024.

“Cocoa has always been the mainstay of our economy, and that must not change. Unfortunately, massive mismanagement in recent years has led to a worrying downturn in both production and financial stability. It is time to act decisively," the minister said.

Finance Minister Dr Ato Forson tasked the board to decisively address the issue of diseased cocoa farms, especially in the Western Region, which continues to hamper productivity. Also, as part of measures to promote the country’s cocoa sector, the Ghana Cocoa Board, in July, in collaboration with the European Union, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, and other stakeholders, launched the Ghana Cocoa Monitor.