Ghana’s Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has raised 3.39 billion cedis ($288.02 million) through a short-term domestic debt issuance to fund cocoa purchases from farmers during the 2026/2027 crop season.
The debt was issued on Monday, October 5, at an 11% interest rate and is scheduled to mature in June 2027, according to debt auction results reported by Reuters.
However, the amount raised fell short of COCOBOD’s 4 billion cedi ($339.85 million) target, leaving a funding gap of about $51.83 million.
COCOBOD Seeks Funding for Cocoa Purchases
The funds are expected to provide liquidity to licensed cocoa buying companies, enabling them to purchase cocoa beans from farmers as the new season gets underway.
Ghana’s 2026/2027 cocoa season began on September 25, but licensed buyers had raised concerns about financing purchases with their own funds because of delays in reimbursement. The buyers warned that lengthy delays in recovering their money could disrupt cocoa purchases and payments to farmers.
The latest borrowing represents the first of three planned debt issuances under COCOBOD’s 16.3 billion cedi ($1.38 billion) domestic financing programme with the remaining tranches expected to be issued before the end of the current crop season.
Ghana Turns to Domestic Borrowing
COCOBOD has struggled to secure financing since its traditional syndicated borrowing arrangement with international banks collapsed during the 2023/2024 cocoa season.
A subsequent financing model backed by international cocoa traders also failed to resolve the board’s liquidity challenges, contributing to delays in payments to farmers during the previous season.
Ghana had earlier considered a $1 billion domestic bond to finance cocoa procurement for the 2026/2027 season, signalling a broader shift toward domestic funding.
The country’s licensed cocoa buying companies have also accumulated an estimated $750 million in bank debt, adding to pressure on the cocoa financing system.
