• Ghana may revive syndicated bank loans to finance cocoa purchases after abandoning the system in 2024.
• Lower global cocoa prices reduced traders’ willingness to prefinance the 2025/2026 campaign.
• Cocoa export revenue nearly doubled to $3.86 billion in 2025, the central bank said.

The possibility of a return to syndicated loans to finance cocoa marketing is no longer off the table in Ghana, according to Reuters, which cited Jerome Kweku Sam, communications director at the Ghana Cocoa Board, known as Cocobod.

For the 2024/2025 season, the state-run regulator announced in August 2024 that it would not seek a consortium of local and international banks to raise the capital required to purchase cocoa beans from farmers. Cocobod cited the need to avoid high interest costs, which reached $150 million in the previous season.

Instead of the system in place since 1992, the regulator adopted a new process that increased the role of multinational companies. Under the new model, Cocobod required buyers to pay 60% of contract values in advance and to prefinance Licensed Buying Companies, known as LBCs.

However, the decline in international cocoa prices over the past year undermined the arrangement.

As cocoa prices fell, traders became reluctant to advance funds for the 2025/2026 season. This hesitation pushed licensed buyers into a liquidity crunch and led to a buildup of unsold cocoa beans in production areas.

Mr. Sam defended the relevance of the former system. “If we had the money from the syndicated loan, we would have had funds that we could have used as seed capital,” he said, adding that Cocobod is in talks with the Finance Ministry to resolve delayed payments to farmers.

An Additional Headache for the Government

So far, Cocobod’s management and government sources have not publicly backed Mr. Sam’s comments. However, his remarks reflect mounting challenges linked to Ghana’s shift toward a new cocoa financing system.

In December 2024, just months after the end of syndicated loans, Bloomberg reported that companies such as Cargill, Olam and Barry Callebaut only advanced funds to a limited number of LBCs they knew or controlled, excluding most domestic buyers.

“Out of the 62 registered LBCs, only 20 are currently active in the market. Within that group, five companies owned by foreign firms control 60% of operations,” said Victus Dzah, executive secretary of the Ghana Association of LBCs.

Ghana’s cocoa sector delivered a strong 2024/2025 season. According to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the country produced 600,000 metric tons of cocoa beans, up from 531,000 tons a year earlier.

On the commercial front, cocoa revenues also rose sharply, supported by higher shipment volumes. Between January and December 2025, cocoa export earnings reached $3.86 billion, nearly double the $1.938 billion recorded in 2024, according to a Bank of Ghana report published on Tuesday, January 27, 2026.

As policymakers await further clarity in the coming weeks, the financing challenge adds to broader reforms announced by President John Dramani Mahama. Recently elected, Mahama criticized Cocobod for failing to raise farmers’ incomes and pledged to restructure the agency by cutting administrative spending.

This article was initially published in French by Espoir Olodo

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de BERRY QUENUM