After years of ups and downs, financial strain, and uncertainty, Ghana’s cocoa sector is finally turning a corner. The government has unveiled sweeping reforms designed not just to stabilize the industry, but to protect the hardworking farmers at its heart. Immediate price protections, a revamped financing model, and a strong push for local processing promise more than stability, they aim to transform cocoa into a source of sustained opportunity and value creation
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Here’s a closer look at the key reforms reshaping Ghana’s cocoa landscape:
1. Producer Price & Farmer Protection
- Farmers will receive 90% of the achieved gross FOB of $4,200 per tonne to help offset the financial impact of the recent fall in global cocoa prices.”
- Effective Thursday, 12 February 2026, the new producer price for the remainder of the 2025–2026 crop season will be 41,392 Ghana cedis per tonne and 2,587 Ghana cedis per bag.
- A new Cocoa Board Bill will be presented to Parliament to implement automatic adjustment of producer price to align with movement in the world market price, exchange rate, and other key variables, and guarantees a minimum of 70% of gross FOB price to be paid to the cocoa farmer.
2. Financing Model Reforms
- A new financing model for cocoa purchases and related operations with associated benefits for increased processing will be introduced effective 2026–2027 crop season.
- The current financing model, invented as a necessity after the syndicated loan failed, has proven not to be sustainable, being entirely dependent on the buyer’s willingness to pre-finance the purchase of cocoa.
- The new financing model will utilize domestic cocoa beans to purchase cocoa and domestic cocoa bonds to purchase cocoa and repay proceeds within each crop year.
- The model will revive indigenous licensed buying companies that have been completely thrown out of business under the current model.
- State-owned Produce Buying Company (PBC) will be revived to resume full operations and become the leading licensed buying company in the cocoa sector with immediate effect.
- With the new model, Cocoa Board can sell beans of any volume to local processing companies to promote value addition and job creation.
- Cabinet has directed that the remainder of the beans for the crop year 2025–2026 should be allocated for domestic processing immediately.
- Beginning 2026–2027, a minimum of 50% of all cocoa beans should be processed locally, as part of the Cocoa Board Bill going to Parliament.
- The state-owned cocoa processing company, CTC, will be revived as a matter of priority to become the leading processor of Ghana’s cocoa beans.
3. Debt Management & Financial Stability
- To address inherited indebtedness, Cabinet has directed the Minister responsible for Finance to seek parliamentary approval to convert legacy debt of about 5.8 billion Ghana cedis onto the Ministry of Finance and Bank of Ghana.
- Cocoa Board currently owes the Ministry of Finance 3.7 billion Ghana cedis from non-marketable cocoa bills converted into a loan, plus another 10-year loan of 1.3 billion Ghana cedis.
- The debt conversion will restore positive equity and strengthen Cocoa Board’s balance sheet to implement reforms and new financing model.
- Cabinet has further directed the transfer of road liabilities worth 4.35 billion Ghana cedis to the Ministry of Roads and the Ministry of Finance, noting that road construction accounts for a significant part of Cocoa Board’s financial difficulties.
4. Accountability & Governance
- Cabinet has directed the Attorney-General to commission a concurrent forensic audit and criminal investigation into the activities of Cocoa Board over the last eight years.
- The Ministry of Finance is also to initiate immediate reforms at Cocoa Board to streamline operations and cut costs.
- Wasteful and uncontrolled expenditure practices are to be curtailed immediately.
- The new Cocoa Bill will prohibit quasi-fiscal expenditures and other non-core expenditures, with punishments if they are ever carried out.
5. Sector Growth & Long-Term Sustainability
- Cabinet has directed reforms to guarantee a fair price to the cocoa farmer, secure the financial viability of the cocoa sector, and ensure the long-term sustainability of the cocoa industry.
- The government commits to increased domestic processing and value addition, creating jobs and strengthening local capacity.
- These reforms are designed to protect the interests of the cocoa farmer and transform the cocoa industry for the long term.
