Ghana’s cocoa sector has seen some improvements since late 2024, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.According to the Fund, production during the 2024/25 season recovered thanks to a more favorable climate and ongoing interventions to enhance productivity such as artificial pollination, mass pruning, mass spraying and hi-tech.
The Fund in a Country Report on Ghana said international cocoa prices have also remained high.
It added that the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is thus expected to honour the contracts rolled over from the previous year and those that originated in the current season, except for a small share already agreed on with buyers.It continued that the new financing model—which reduces reliance on syndicated loans in favor of other trade financing options—appears to have reduced liquidity constraints, delivering faster payments to the farmers.
As such, COCOBOD’s cash flow is expected to remain balanced during the current season.
The Fund also said COCOBOD continues to implement its turnaround strategy with World Bank support.
The strategy, it pointed out, aims at restoring COCOBOD’s financial sustainability by strengthening financial oversight; maintaining the producer price within the range of 60- 70% of international prices to cover COCOBOD’s financial and operational costs; rationalising costs based on a functional review of COCOBOD’s departments and subsidiaries and phasing out quasi-fiscal activities.
Meanwhile, the World Bank is supporting COCOBOD in undertaking a functional and expenditure review.
This is expected to improve the efficiency, and develop a cocoa sector modernisation strategy to support the Government of Ghana’s efforts towards making the cocoa sector more robust, resilient, and competitive.
