- Cocoa farmers say they have not been paid for beans sold since November 2025
- Payment delays are leaving farmers struggling to meet basic daily needs
- Some licensed buying companies have stopped responding to farmers’ calls
Some cocoa farmers in Ghana say they have not been paid for beans sold as far back as November 2025, leaving many unable to meet basic living expenses.
Farmers across several cocoa-growing regions told JoyNews Research that payments for deliveries made months ago remain outstanding, despite repeated assurances from the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
“We are still waiting for payment for beans sold since November last year. I have never experienced a delay this long,” one farmer said.
Another farmer said some licensed buying companies have gone silent. “Some buyers have switched off their phones, and we have no information on when we will be paid,” he explained.
In October 2025, Ghana set its farmgate price at 58,000 Ghana cedis per metric tonne—about $4,640—representing a 12 percent increase from the previous season. However, global cocoa prices are hovering around $4,700 per tonne, squeezing margins and making it more difficult for COCOBOD to meet payment obligations under the revised pre-financing system.
The restructured system, introduced for the 2024/2025 season, transferred responsibility for pre-financing cocoa purchases from COCOBOD to international traders.
Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that higher-than-expected production, coupled with traders’ reluctance to pay deposits of at least 60 percent on forward contracts at the start of the season, has left Ghana with a large stockpile of unsold cocoa. The sources did not specify the volume involved.
Under the new arrangement, farmers sell cocoa to licensed buying companies, which in turn sell to COCOBOD. COCOBOD, through its marketing arm, then exports the beans to international buyers.
Previously, COCOBOD financed purchases through syndicated loans, with funds disbursed to licensed buying companies to buy cocoa from farmers for export.
However, funding has been constrained since the 2023/2024 season due to rising interest rates and concerns about Ghana’s ability to deliver cocoa without defaulting.
Industry sources say the recent drop in international prices has further complicated efforts by COCOBOD to secure advance payments from traders, forcing the government to step in with funding support.
“The harsh reality is that there is no money to finance the purchases, and farmers are paying the price,” one farmer and aggregator told JoyNews Research.
Ghana is estimated to lose between 100,000 and 150,000 metric tonnes of cocoa annually to smuggling, and there are growing fears that prolonged payment delays could worsen the problem in the upcoming season.
Meanwhile, Bank of Ghana data show that cocoa export earnings have more than doubled compared with the previous season, reaching nearly $4 billion—the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic.
