Acting Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, Dr. Randy Abbey, has raised concerns over the potential collapse of Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs), particularly local firms, due to the absence of critical funding for the upcoming cocoa season.

Speaking on JoyNews, Dr. Abbey revealed that COCOBOD has not secured a syndicated loan for the 2025/2026 cocoa season, resulting in the lack of a “seed fund” for LBCs. This funding is typically used to purchase cocoa beans from farmers at the start of the season.

He explained that the situation is placing enormous strain on indigenous LBCs, many of which rely heavily on the seed money to operate. Without it, he warned, these companies may be unable to function, threatening their survival.

While opting out of the syndicated loan may reduce COCOBOD’s financing costs, Dr. Abbey cautioned that the broader impact on local operators could be devastating.

In response to the crisis, he has engaged the Bank of Ghana with a proposal to allocate a portion of the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) to support cocoa purchases by local LBCs. Under the CRR policy, banks are required to hold 25% of their deposits with the Central Bank.

“What I then told the Central Bank when we engaged them was that, look, you have the Cash Reserve Ratio, where all the banks put 25% of their deposits at the Central Bank. This is idle, not doing anything,” Dr. Abbey stated.

He suggested that redirecting just 2% or 3% of the CRR toward cocoa financing could provide much-needed relief to indigenous LBCs.