COCOBOD is grappling with a staggering debt of GH¢32.5 billion, with GH¢9.7 billion due by the end of September 2025, President John Dramani Mahama has revealed.

Delivering the 2025 State of the Nation Address in Parliament today, 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. Instead, the contracts were carried over to the 2024/25 season, leading to significant revenue shortfalls.

"This implies that for every tonne of cocoa delivered this year in fulfillment of the rolled-over contract, COCOBOD and cocoa farmers are going to lose $4,000 in revenue," Mahama stated.

He disclosed that out of the rolled-over contract, 210,000 tonnes had already been supplied, resulting in an $840 million loss. By the time the remaining contracts are fulfilled, COCOBOD and cocoa farmers will have lost a total of $495 million.

Beyond the supply challenges, the president also highlighted the financial strain caused by cocoa road commitments, which stand at GH¢21.7 billion. Of this amount, only GH¢4.4 billion is accounted for in COCOBOD’s total debt.

"This debt has arisen mainly because of the decision in 2019 and 2020 to award road contracts worth over a billion dollars because of the election," Mahama noted.

COCOBOD’s deteriorating financial position, coupled with Ghana’s broader economic challenges, has raised concerns about its ability to meet debt obligations. The 2021 Auditor-General’s report had pegged COCOBOD’s debt at GH¢12.3 billion ($1 billion) as of September 2020, but the situation has since worsened.

Earlier this year, COCOBOD defaulted on payments for its 182-day bill, rolling over outstanding securities worth GH¢940 million ($79 million) and later restructuring debts amounting to GH¢7.93 billion ($661 million).

The cocoa sector’s struggles have been further compounded by Ghana’s efforts to secure international financing. While the country initially planned to raise $1.2 billion for the 2023/24 cocoa season, the amount was later revised down to $800 million due to IMF-imposed debt management restrictions, marking an 18-year low in syndicated loans for COCOBOD.