The Minister-Designate for Food and Agriculture has claimed that Ghana’s cocoa production has sharply declined to its lowest point over the past two decades.
Referencing recent reports from the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), he said the country has witnessed a drop in production levels.
He made the remarks during his vetting before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Monday, January 20, 2025.
He told the committee that Ghana’s country’s cocoa production for the season stood at 530,000 metric tonnes.
He lamented that the situation has had financial implications for the country, including its cocoa loan commitments.
The nominee said that Ghana has been unable to meet its target after going in for a syndicated loan of $800 million to buy 850,000 tonnes of cocoa and defaulted on the loan.
“Just recently during the transition engagement, COCOBOD submitted a list to us. In that document, they indicated that their production was 530 metric tonnes. In this case, both of you are right. But being it 430 or 530 metric tonnes, both are right. But production has declined and that is the lowest in the last two decades,” he stated.
“On the issues of default, Ghana went to the syndicated market and took a loan of $800 million to purchase 850,000 tonnes of cocoa. At the end of the season, we were unable to produce to meet 850,000 tonnes. We defaulted on the loans.Ghanaian-themed art
“They decided to roll over that delivery to this year. The quantity is 374,000 tonnes. This is the figure they gave us during the transition. Now that we have assumed office, we have to look at how to deal with this debt and many other debts in the sector before we can make progress,” he added.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
