The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has proposed tougher penalties, including prison sentences of up to 10 years, for individuals involved in cocoa smuggling as part of efforts to safeguard the country’s cocoa industry and strengthen compliance with international market requirements.
The proposal, which has been submitted to Cabinet for consideration, comes amid growing concerns over cocoa smuggling activities, particularly in the Volta, Western, Western North and Bono regions, where new smuggling routes have emerged.
Speaking in an interview, the Deputy Director in charge of Monitoring and Evaluation at COCOBOD, Mr Eric Amengor, said the proposed amendments were designed to serve as a strong deterrent against illegal cocoa trading while protecting government revenue and the integrity of Ghana’s cocoa exports.
Under the proposal, any cocoa found to have been smuggled would be confiscated, while offenders could be fined up to five times the value of the seized produce.
In addition, individuals convicted of cocoa smuggling could face fines of up to 200,000 penalty units, imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both.
Mr Amengor said the proposed sanctions represented a significant departure from existing laws, which he described as inadequate in addressing the growing threat posed by cocoa smuggling.
According to him, the illegal trade not only deprives the country of valuable export earnings but also undermines efforts to ensure traceability within the cocoa supply chain, a key requirement under emerging international regulations.
The proposed crackdown comes as Ghana intensifies preparations to comply with the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which requires exporters to demonstrate that agricultural commodities entering the EU market are not linked to deforestation.
Mr Amengor disclosed that Ghana was about 99 per cent ready to meet the EUDR requirements, largely due to years of investment in cocoa farm mapping and traceability systems.
He explained that cocoa farm mapping in Ghana began as early as 2005, allowing the country to establish a comprehensive database of cocoa farms long before the introduction of the EU regulation.
By the time the EUDR framework was adopted, between 70 and 80 percent of cocoa farms nationwide had already been mapped, giving Ghana a significant advantage in meeting compliance requirements.
To further strengthen traceability, COCOBOD has deployed a digital monitoring system that tracks cocoa beans from farms to export points.
Under the system, cocoa is sorted and bagged at the farm level, with each bag assigned a unique barcode. The barcode is scanned and verified at various stages of the supply chain, including community collection centres, district depots and ports.
Information collected throughout the process is transmitted to a central digital platform, enabling real-time monitoring of cocoa movement and ensuring consistency between farm-level production records and export volumes.
Mr Amengor said the traceability system would play a critical role in helping Ghana maintain access to the European market, one of the country’s most important destinations for cocoa exports.
Although he acknowledged that some logistical challenges remain ahead of the December 30 deadline for full EUDR compliance, he expressed confidence that the outstanding issues would be addressed in time.
He also revealed that COCOBOD intends to establish a technical team to assess the impact of environmental changes and the new EU regulations on cocoa production and the wider industry.
According to him, the proposed legal reforms and digital traceability measures form part of a broader strategy to curb illegal activities, strengthen the competitiveness of Ghana’s cocoa sector and preserve the country’s reputation as a leading producer of high-quality cocoa.
