The Minority in Parliament has alleged that the Ghana Cocoa Board’s (COCOBOD) decision to transition to self-financing for the 2024/2025 cocoa crop season was prompted by the rejection of a $1.5 billion loan proposal submitted to international banks in June 2024.
According to the Minority, the loan request failed to attract interest from international banks due to COCOBOD’s poor financial health and the reported decline of the cocoa sector under its current management.
Despite COCOBOD’s recent announcement of its shift to self-financing for the upcoming cocoa season starting in September 2024, Minority Leader Cassiel Ato Forson confirmed in a release dated Wednesday, August 21, that the loan proposal was indeed rejected by the banks.
“For the first time in 32 years, International Banks have rejected Ghana Cocoa Board’s (COCOBOD) request for a prepayment loan to finance the purchase of cocoa.
“In June 2024, COCOBOD issued a Request for Proposal of $1.5 billion loan to purchase up to 650,000 metric tonnes of cocoa for the 2024/2025 crop year. But this request did not attract any interest from the international banks due to the poor health of COCOBOD and the collapse of the cocoa sector under its present management.”
The Minority alleged that COCOBOD was rejected by lenders due to its lack of creditworthiness.
According to the Minority, COCOBOD’s poor management of the cocoa sector has resulted in its inability to supply approximately 250,000 metric tonnes of cocoa, forcing the organization to rely on contractual obligations to meet its obligations.
“COCOBOD is unable to supply about 250,000 metric tonnes of cocoa and has resorted to the rollover of this contractual obligation due to the poor management of the cocoa sector which has resulted in a significant decline in cocoa production under the NPP government.
“COCOBOD was chased away from the market due to the fact that COCOBOD is no longer credit worthy, lacks credibility and are unable to produce enough cocoa to meet their contractual obligations.”
END
