Ghana’s Cocoa Marketing Board (Cocobod) reported a profit of GH¢2.3 billion ($149.84 million) for the 2022/23 fiscal year, largely due to debt restructuring, according to an Auditor General report obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.

The report revealed that this was Cocobod's first profit after experiencing six consecutive years of losses.

As the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, Ghana has been working to restructure its $30 billion debt, including that from the cocoa sector, to support a $3 billion, three-year International Monetary Fund program and recover from its most severe economic crisis in decades.

Last month, Ghana concluded a deal with its official creditor committee and reached a preliminary agreement with two bondholder groups to restructure approximately $13 billion of its debt, advancing its debt overhaul efforts.

These developments followed a domestic debt restructuring program in 2023, during which various bonds, including cocoa bills used to address Cocobod's short-term liquidity needs, were exchanged for long-term securities with reduced yields.

Cocobod “ended the year with a profit of 2.3 billion cedi, compared with a loss of 4.2 billion cedi in 2022,” said the auditor general report on public corporations and boards yet to be published.

Ray Ankrah, deputy CEO of Cocobod, said the recovery was largely on the back of the debt restructuring.

“There were huge financing costs; we were paying something in the range of 34% but it’s now down to 13% (after the restructuring),” he said.

Mr. Ankrah noted that rising global cocoa prices, higher sales of cocoa beans, currency stability, and improved cost management all contributed to the profit.

The audit report indicated that Cocobod’s revenue grew by 41.7% to GH¢17.7 billion in 2023, driven by increased sales of cocoa beans.

According to the report, Cocobod may still face challenges in meeting its short-term financial commitments due to inadequate liquidity.

Cocoa prices have more than doubled this year, primarily due to poor harvests in Ghana and Ivory Coast, which together account for 60% of the world’s cocoa supply.