We lost $840 million because of the rollover – Randy Abbey discloses

Broadcaster and public affairs analyst Randy Abbey discussed Ghana’s cocoa crisis. He stated that delays in syndicated loans and poor financial planning caused significant losses. The estimated loss is around $840 million.

Abbey spoke on Hot Issues with Keminni Amanor, as reported by MyNewsGH. He explained that COCOBOD's financial mistakes during the 2023/2024 season weakened the industry. This also hurt cocoa farmers' earnings across the country.

COCOBOD sought a syndicated loan for the 2023/2024 season. They used a conservative pricing benchmark of $2,600 per ton. This was despite ongoing market volatility and liquidity issues.

The real crisis hit when funds arrived in December 2023. This was three months after the cocoa season officially opened. Abbey noted that Licensed Buying Companies could not get seed funds for almost four months.

This delay had serious consequences. COCOBOD had committed to deliver over 333,000 tons of cocoa but failed to meet those contracts. As a result, they had to roll over these contracts into the 2024/2025 season.

During this time, global cocoa prices soared to $6,600 per ton. However, Ghana was servicing prior contracts at a loss of $4,000 per ton. Abbey revealed that by April 2025, they had serviced 210,000 tons, resulting in an $840 million loss.

This shortfall is why the government couldn't raise the cocoa producer price significantly. Abbey mentioned they increased it to GH₵3,100 just three weeks before elections. However, this amount is less than 50% of the world price.

The situation remains unstable for Ghana's cocoa sector. Abbey warned that another 120,000 tons are being rolled over into the 2025/2026 season. Although the president wants to improve farmer incomes, economic instability complicates price adjustments.

Abbey emphasized that this issue goes beyond mismanagement. It reflects a collapse of confidence in institutions meant to protect farmers and support the economy.