The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) says it is finalising a new domestic financing framework for the 2026/27 cocoa season, marking a significant shift away from the country’s long-standing syndicated loan structure used to finance cocoa purchases.
Speaking at the Africa Cocoa Finance and Investment Forum (ACFIF 2026) at the London Stock Exchange, COCOBOD Chief Executive Dr. Ransford Abbey said the new model is intended to improve “price stability” and ensure “sustainable farmer income” while reducing dependence on offshore financiers.
Under the proposed arrangement, COCOBOD plans to mobilise funding through cedi-denominated commercial paper and commercial notes backed largely by domestic liquidity sources, including pension funds and institutional investors.
Randy Abbey noted that Ghana’s cocoa sector has relied for more than three decades on syndicated loans supported by forward cocoa sales, a system he said required between 70% and 92% of the crop to be collateralised to foreign financiers. He described the reforms as a necessary “paradigm shift” in cocoa sector financing.
He disclosed that the new structure would introduce a pricing mechanism with “periodic reviews” that could be conducted quarterly and applied across the entire crop season to respond to movements in global cocoa prices and exchange rates.
According to COCOBOD, the framework will maintain the policy of paying farmers 70% of the Free-On-Board (FOB) price while attempting to balance farmer incomes with the sector’s financial sustainability.
The reforms are also expected to expand financing access for local cocoa processors and indigenous firms as part of efforts to strengthen local value retention and processing capacity.
Randy. Abbey expressed confidence in Ghana’s domestic financial market, citing “improving macroeconomic conditions” and growing investor appetite for structured financial instruments. He added that pension funds alone hold substantial liquidity that could support the transition to a domestic fundraising model.
He further indicated that a detailed prospectus outlining participation opportunities for financial institutions and investors is being finalised ahead of the opening of the 2026/27 cocoa season.
The planned reforms come as policymakers seek to stabilise Ghana’s cocoa sector, improve local processing, and reduce exposure to external financing pressures amid continued volatility in global commodity markets.
