Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has revealed that the Ghana Cocoa Board, widely known as COCOBOD, is preparing to launch a commercial paper programme designed to mobilise approximately one billion United States dollars to support cocoa bean acquisitions for the 2026 and 2027 crop season.
Addressing participants at the Ghana-UK Investment Summit 2026 in London, Dr. Forson indicated that the initiative forms a central component of a revised funding framework intended to lessen COCOBOD’s reliance on conventional offshore syndicated credit facilities, which have become progressively more difficult to obtain amid changing global financial conditions.
The Finance Minister disclosed that the transaction adviser overseeing the arrangement has concluded its assignment and delivered the final report, clearing the path for the commercial paper issuance to commence within the coming weeks.
According to Dr. Forson, the fundraising exercise will not depend exclusively on domestic banking institutions. Instead, the programme will attract participation from pension funds, overseas investors and a broad range of institutional participants. He further explained that the issuance will be executed in three separate phases to maximise market participation and funding efficiency.
He noted that implementation remains contingent upon parliamentary approval of the proposed Cocoa Bill and subsequent presidential endorsement. Once the legislative process is completed, government authorities will provide comprehensive details regarding the structure, operational framework and execution strategy underpinning the programme.
The proposed issuance is expected to generate roughly one billion United States dollars, providing COCOBOD with sufficient liquidity to finance cocoa purchases during the forthcoming crop season. The arrangement is intended to guarantee timely payments to farmers while sustaining activities throughout the entire cocoa value ecosystem.
The development represents a notable transformation in the financial architecture supporting Ghana’s cocoa industry. For decades, COCOBOD depended largely on annual syndicated borrowing arrangements secured from international financial institutions to fund cocoa procurement activities. However, escalating debt obligations, fluctuations within commodity markets and increasingly restrictive global lending conditions have rendered that model more challenging to sustain.
Under the revised framework, COCOBOD plans to introduce locally issued cocoa backed debt securities that will establish a revolving financing facility. The fund will be utilised to acquire cocoa beans and subsequently replenished through proceeds generated from cocoa exports and sales within the same production cycle.
Market analysts and industry stakeholders believe the initiative could strengthen Ghana’s capital market by drawing increased participation from pension schemes, domestic institutional investors and international financiers seeking exposure to one of the world’s most important cocoa producing economies.
The financing structure is also expected to provide critical support for indigenous Licensed Buying Companies, many of which have encountered considerable operational constraints under the existing funding arrangement. In addition, the model could enable COCOBOD to channel larger quantities of cocoa beans to domestic processing enterprises, thereby advancing value addition, industrial expansion and employment generation across the country.
COCOBOD’s financial position has attracted growing public and investor attention in recent years amid concerns regarding its debt obligations, which were estimated at approximately thirty two billion Ghana cedis earlier this year. Financial experts contend that a successful commercial paper programme would broaden the institution’s funding base, reduce dependence on a single financing channel and enhance the long term sustainability of cocoa sector financing.
Ghana’s cocoa industry remains one of the most important foundations of the national economy, generating substantial export revenues, supporting millions of rural livelihoods and contributing significantly to foreign exchange earnings. Government officials are optimistic that the new financing mechanism will reinforce the sector’s stability, improve financial resilience and ensure continuous support for cocoa producers throughout the country.
