Ghana is planning to raise $1 billion through domestic bonds to fund cocoa purchases from farmers ahead of the 2026/27 crop season, as the country seeks to overhaul how it finances and delivers cocoa to global buyers.
This is according to Bloomberg, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the discussions.
Ghana, the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, has faced severe market volatility and funding pressures following the steep fall in cocoa prices after the commodity’s historic rally in 2024, forcing the government of the West African nation to rethink funding arrangements for its farmers and cocoa purchases.
According to Randy Abbey, the head of the industry regulator, the Ghana Cocoa Board, the bond, expected before the new cocoa season begins around August, would be denominated in the country’s currency, the cedi, as part of efforts to reduce the country’s overdependence on dollar funding and foreign lenders.
Abbey said Ghana believes current borrowing conditions are favourable enough for the country to access the domestic debt market, amid easing inflation and declining interest rates.
“We are looking at funding the entire crop. We believe that the interest rates in Ghana now are at the right place for us to go into the market.”
He made the remarks at the Africa Cocoa Investment Forum in London on Wednesday.
Abbey added that the move is also intended to create a more stable funding regime for Ghana’s cocoa industry, which has struggled with repayment pressures tied to trader-backed loans used over the years to finance cocoa purchases from farmers.
Ghana’s cocoa financing challenges have also exposed deeper liquidity problems within the country’s state-controlled cocoa purchasing system.
The country’s state-owned cocoa buyer, Producer Buying Company (PBC), has reportedly struggled to purchase cocoa from farmers after accumulating debts of GH¢673 million ($60 million), according to Reuters. The debt burden has reportedly left the company facing possible asset seizures.
Under Ghana’s cocoa marketing structure, PBC is legally mandated to buy cocoa from any farmer as a buyer of last resort. The government had pledged in February to restore the company as the country’s leading cocoa-buying firm.
However, months later, the company reportedly owed cocoa farmers about 24 million cedis for more than 9,000 bags already delivered, while lacking sufficient liquidity to continue purchases.
Amid the cocoa debt crisis, Ghana’s inflation is beginning to show renewed pressure, rising 3.4% year-on-year in April 2026, up from 3.2% in March, marking the first increase since December 2024.
On the monetary policy side, the Bank of Ghana has been cutting interest rates since July 2025 as inflation slowed at a record pace.
In January 2026, the apex bank slashed its main policy rate to 15.50% following a 250-basis-point cut driven by easing inflationary pressures.
The rate was later lowered again to 14%, marking the fifth consecutive policy meeting at which the benchmark interest rate was reduced.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com