The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has acknowledged that it has outstanding payments to licensed cocoa buying companies but says the situation is not new and does not reflect an inability to settle its debt obligations.
The response follows a claim by the Chamber of Cocoa Marketers Ghana that licensed cocoa buying companies are owed about GH¢4 billion by COCOBOD, a situation the Chamber says could affect their ability to secure financing to purchase cocoa in the new season.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Tuesday, September 15, COCOBOD’s Head of Public Affairs, Jerome Kwaku Sam, said it was normal for the Board to have outstanding obligations to licensed buying companies following the end of a cocoa season.
“So if the season ended just about a month and a half ago, it is only reasonable, logical, that there possibly could be some outstanding amounts that COCOBOD would have to make to the licensed buying companies or the chamber,” he said.
Mr. Sam explained that licensed buying companies purchase cocoa on behalf of COCOBOD and subsequently submit Cocoa Takeover Receipts (CTORs) for payment.
He said the Board had prioritised payments to cocoa farmers before settling outstanding obligations to licensed buying companies.
“Our farmers as well as the licensed buying companies. So between these two stakeholders, we thought that prioritizing the cocoa farmer who does the cultivation and who makes available the beans for us to give in purchase and sell ought to be prioritised,” he said.
Mr. Sam said COCOBOD was now preparing to engage the licensed buying companies to address the outstanding payments.
“Plans are far advanced to meet with the licensed buying companies or the chamber to iron out all outstanding payments that we have,” he said.
He explained that the current situation was also linked to COCOBOD’s transition from its previous financing model to a new funding arrangement, which has involved consultations and discussions with stakeholders.
Mr. Sam stressed that outstanding payments to licensed buying companies were not a new development.
“No, this is not new,” he said, adding that the companies had previously carried outstanding balances from one cocoa season into another.
He cited previous concerns raised by the Chamber dating back to 2023, when the organisation indicated that COCOBOD had carried outstanding obligations to licensed buying companies into subsequent seasons.
“I am not in any stretch of imagination saying that that should be the case, but I am only stating that if we have an outstanding like this, it does not epitomize Cocoa Board’s inability to settle its debt obligation to the licensed buying companies,” he said.
Mr. Sam said COCOBOD understood the financial difficulties facing licensed buying companies and was working towards arrangements that would support them in financing cocoa purchases for the new season.
Source: Citi
