Ghana’s state-owned cocoa buyer is unable to purchase cocoa from farmers after accumulating debts of 673 million cedis ($60 million) that have left it facing an asset seizure, a company source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The company, Producer Buying Company (PBC), is legally mandated to purchase cocoa from any farmer as a buyer of last resort. The government pledged in February to restore it as the country’s leading cocoa buying company.
But three months later, PBC owes growers 24 million cedis for over 9,000 bags already delivered and lacks the liquidity to resume purchases, the company source said.
A consortium of Ghanaian banks owed 257 million cedis secured a court order in March to sell off the company’s assets, the source said.
Ghana’s cocoa industry has been in crisis as it has struggled to sell beans and pay farmers this year due to ample global harvests, lower cocoa prices and falling demand from chocolate makers for the ingredient.
PBC’s woes also stem from a loss of market share – it used to control 30% of the domestic market but currently buys less than 5% of cocoa produced in Ghana. Its problems risk further exacerbating financial hardship for Ghana’s smallholder farmers, thousands of whom have not been paid for beans delivered since November 2025.
The company source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media, said COCOBOD has yet to reimburse PBC for 800 metric tons of cocoa delivered more than two months ago.
Under Ghana’s cocoa system, PBC and other Licensed Buying Companies that purchase cocoa from farmers then sell it to COCOBOD, the market regulator, which sells it on to international buyers.
Neither the finance ministry nor COCOBOD has responded to requests from PBC for support, the source said.
The finance ministry and COCOBOD did not respond to requests for comment.
Finance Minister Vowed to Aid Company
Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson said in February that the revival of PBC was central to the government’s strategy of supporting cocoa farmers, promising a reliable and transparent avenue for growers to sell their product at fair prices.
The source said the minister has since not had any discussions with the company on the way forward.
COCOBOD says it has been disbursing funds to buying companies. But the company source said PBC had not received any money.
PBC’s debt includes over 24 months of unpaid staff salaries, vendor arrears and outstanding statutory payments, in addition to the 257 million cedis owed to banks, the source said.
Two of the five banks in the consortium that secured a court order to sell off PBC assets are state-owned and all report to the finance ministry.
SSNIT, the state pension fund and a major shareholder, has been reluctant to inject fresh capital into PBC, having not received expected dividends since its initial investment, the company source said.
A structured COCOBOD intervention could turn things around, the company source said, if the board directed a share of international buyers towards PBC and released funds for purchases.
PBC operates in all 127 cocoa-growing districts, giving it a bigger reach than any private company.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com