COCOBOD Defaulted on 333,767 Tonnes of Cocoa Contracts in 2023/2024 – Randy Abbey

Dr Randy Abbey, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), has disclosed that the board failed to honour cocoa supply contracts amounting to 333,767 tonnes during the 2023/2024 cocoa season, describing the development as unprecedented in the institution’s history.

Speaking in an interview with Bernard Avle on The Point of View on Channel One TV on Monday, February 9, 2026, Dr Abbey said the cocoa had been sold to buyers at an average price of about US$2,600 per tonne but could not be supplied as contracted.

He explained that the undelivered volumes were rolled over into subsequent seasons at the original contract price, creating severe financial pressure for COCOBOD at a time when global cocoa prices had surged to between US$9,000 and US$12,000 per tonne.

As a result, COCOBOD was compelled to use higher-priced cocoa to service the rolled-over contracts, leading to significant losses.

Dr Abbey said the situation was worsened by the collapse of COCOBOD’s syndicated loan during the 2023–2024 season. Efforts to secure financing for the 2024/2025 season were unsuccessful, as banks failed to respond to the board’s request for proposals, largely due to concerns over cocoa supply constraints. Consequently, the outstanding contracts were again rolled over into the following season, despite having been priced at US$2,600 per tonne.

“In 2023/2024, COCOBOD failed to honour 333,767 tonnes of cocoa that it had sold to buyers at an average of US$2,600. It could not supply them — the first time in the history of COCOBOD. These were rollovers priced at US$2,600 that we inherited at a time when cocoa prices had shot up,” he said.

“Cocoa prices were then at US$12,000, US$11,000, US$10,000 and US$9,000. That was also when the syndicated loan collapsed. In 2024/2025, COCOBOD issued a request for proposals, and the banks did not respond because they did not believe the cocoa could be supplied. So the contracts were rolled over again at US$2,600.”

Dr Abbey further disclosed that COCOBOD incurred losses because the producer price paid to farmers during the period stood at about US$3,100 per tonne, exceeding the contract price by roughly US$500 per tonne.

“We even ended up making losses because the producer price paid to farmers was US$3,100,” he noted.

He said COCOBOD managed to clear about 235,000 tonnes of the outstanding contracts in the first year, representing nearly two-thirds of the total volume.

However, he stressed that the scale of the shortfall was substantial, as the undelivered cocoa accounted for more than half of an estimated annual yield of 600,000 tonnes.

“For every tonne used to service these contracts, you had a shortfall of US$500. And we are not talking about 30,000 or 50,000 tonnes. We are talking about 333,767 tonnes — more than 50 per cent of expected annual production,” he said.

Dr Abbey said the episode highlights the depth of the challenges confronting COCOBOD, particularly the combined impact of supply constraints, pricing mismatches and financing difficulties on the board’s operations.

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