COCOBOD misses deadline to clear GHC6 Billion debt to Farmers and buying companies

By Prince Antwi July 9, 2026

The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has fallen short of its commitment to settle more than GH¢6 billion in outstanding payments owed to cocoa farmers and Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) by the end of June, with about GH¢3.4 billion still outstanding.

On June 15, COCOBOD’s Head of Public Affairs, Jerome Sam, told JoyNews’ PM Express that the Board was on course to clear nearly all of its outstanding obligations before the close of the month, indicating that any unpaid balance would be negligible.

However, figures released by COCOBOD after the June deadline show that the target was not met.

In its latest update on cocoa purchase financing, the Board announced that it had disbursed GH¢2.6 billion to Licensed Buying Companies. Of that amount, GH¢1.4 billion has been earmarked to pay cocoa farmers who previously supplied produce on credit, while GH¢1.2 billion will reimburse LBCs that used their own funds to purchase cocoa beans.

With COCOBOD having earlier acknowledged that its total arrears to farmers and LBCs exceeded GH¢6 billion, the latest payment accounts for approximately 43 per cent of the outstanding debt. This leaves an estimated GH¢3.4 billion—about 57 per cent of the total—yet to be paid, contrary to earlier assurances that only a small balance would remain after June.

The continued delay in payments has placed significant financial pressure on Licensed Buying Companies, many of which borrowed funds to finance cocoa purchases while awaiting reimbursement from COCOBOD. Farmers have also been affected, as the unpaid arrears limit their ability to finance essential activities ahead of the next cocoa production season.

Although the latest disbursement has reduced part of the outstanding debt, the figures confirm that COCOBOD did not meet its self-imposed deadline to clear the arrears by the end of June.