Is Ghana’s cocoa financing model finally broken?

• COCOBOD owes over $600mn to farmers
• 50,000 tonnes of cocoa remain unsold

ACCRA, GHANA — Ghana is struggling to pay cocoa farmers months after deliveries, as its cocoa regulator grapples with more than GH¢10 billion ($600 million) in debt and 50,000 tonnes of unsold beans.

For more than three decades, Ghana financed its cocoa purchases through annual pre-export syndicated loans from international banks. The system was straightforward: borrow upfront, buy cocoa from farmers, export to chocolate manufacturers, then repay the loans.