The high-level meeting is expected to confront the serious financial and operational challenges facing the cocoa regulator, following troubling disclosures by COCOBOD Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Randy Abbey, just over one year into the administration’s term.
Dr. Abbey has revealed that COCOBOD is grappling with an overwhelming debt burden estimated at GH¢32.91 billion, a situation he described as unsustainable. Central to the problem is a $481 million loan falling due in the 2025/26 cocoa season, for which no repayment provision has been made.
He further disclosed that COCOBOD defaulted on forward sales contracts during the 2023/24 cocoa season, failing to deliver 333,760 tonnes of cocoa that had been contracted at $2,600 per tonne. According to him, the surge in global cocoa prices meant that the failure to honour the contract translated into an estimated loss of nearly $1 billion in potential revenue to the country.
The COCOBOD boss also drew attention to a $350 million loan secured for cocoa farm rehabilitation, intended to restore 156,400 hectares of farmland. He said the project delivered far below expectations, with only about 40,000 hectares completed, even after an additional GH¢700 million was injected into the programme. Despite the limited progress, repayment of the loan is ongoing.
The emergency Cabinet meeting is expected to critically assess these developments and chart a path to stabilise COCOBOD, safeguard cocoa farmers’ livelihoods and restore confidence in the management of Ghana’s most strategic export sector.
By ModernGhana.com
President John Dramani Mahama has convened an emergency Cabinet meeting for Wednesday, February 11, 2026, amid mounting concerns over the deteriorating state of Ghana’s cocoa sector and the growing financial strain on the Ghana Cocoa Board, COCOBOD.
