Ghana is strengthening the financing of its cocoa sector by turning more towards its own financial market. The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), the public entity overseeing the sector, has raised 3,39 billion cedis, or approximately 288 million dollars (168 billion FCFA), to support the financing of cocoa purchases during the 2026/2027 campaign.
This operation takes place as the country seeks to reduce its dependence on international financing mechanisms that have shown their limitations in recent years.
Executed by Cocoa Capital PLC, a subsidiary 100% owned by COCOBOD, this initial issuance was concluded at a rate of 11%, with a maturity date scheduled for June 2027. The operation was initially intended to raise 4 billion cedis, but investors ultimately provided 3,39 billion.
These resources are intended, in particular, to finance the licensed companies responsible for purchasing beans from producers.
See also - Ivory Coast: Main cocoa harvest could fall by 17% in 2026/27
In Ghana, these companies, known as Licensed Buying Companies (LBC), purchase cocoa directly from farmers and must have the necessary liquidity to pay them at the time of collection. COCOBOD then intervenes in the financing of these operations.
Last July, the entity had already released 2,6 billion cedis in favor of the LBC, notably to support payments to producers.
The new fundraising constitutes a first tranche of a domestic financing program of 16,3 billion cedis, or approximately 1 380 billion of FCFA. Of this envelope, 14 billion cedis is to finance needs related to cocoa purchases for the 2026/2027 campaign, while the remaining 2,3 billion is intended for the refinancing of a portion of COCOBOD's debt.
See also - Ghana: Cocobod raises 1,1 billion dollars to finance the purchase of cocoa beans
This resort to the Ghanaian financial market comes as the traditional financing model for the sector has significantly deteriorated. For several decades, COCOBOD relied on syndicated loans granted by international banks to finance cocoa purchases.
This mechanism, however, deteriorated starting from the 2023/2024 campaign, pushing the entity to seek other sources of liquidity. Ghana had notably relied on pre-financing provided by international traders without managing to permanently resolve its cash flow difficulties.
For the current campaign, the challenge is therefore to have the funds necessary for purchases available early enough, as the price paid to producers has been raised to 42 400 cedis per ton, compared to 41 392 cedis during the previous campaign.
Fanuelle YAO
Published on 08/10/26 10:55
The Editorial Board