Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson announces sweeping reforms to salvage Ghana’s struggling cocoa sector
Government has directed that a minimum of 50 percent of all cocoa beans produced in Ghana must be processed locally, beginning from the 2026-2027 crop season, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has announced.
The landmark policy shift forms part of emergency measures approved by Cabinet to address the deepening crisis in the cocoa sector. It was disclosed at a press briefing on Thursday, February 12, following an emergency Cabinet meeting convened to tackle challenges including mounting debts owed to farmers and underperforming state-owned enterprises.
Dr Ato Forson revealed that Cabinet has ordered the immediate revival of two key state-owned entities—the Produce Buying Company (PBC) and the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC)—as part of a broader strategy to restructure the industry.
“State-owned produce buying company PBC will be revived to resume full operations and become the leading licence buying company in the cocoa sector with immediate effect,” the Finance Minister stated.
The revival of PBC comes at a critical juncture, with Licensed Buying Companies currently owed approximately GH¢2.04 billion by COCOBOD. Some farmers have reportedly remained unpaid since November 2025.
Cabinet has further directed that the remainder of cocoa beans for the current 2025-2026 crop year be allocated for domestic processing with immediate effect.
Under the new financing model being developed, COCOBOD will be empowered to sell any volume of beans to local processing companies, removing previous restrictions that constrained domestic supply.
“With the new financing model, COCOBOD can sell beans of any volume to local processing companies to promote value addition and job creation,” Dr Ato Forson explained.
Mandatory local processing target
The most significant policy intervention, however, is the mandatory local processing requirement to take effect from next season.
“Cabinet has also directed that beginning from the 2026 to 2027 crop season, a minimum of 50% of all cocoa beans should be processed locally, and this will be part of the Cocoa Board bill going to Parliament,” the Minister disclosed.
Currently, Ghana processes only an estimated 30 to 35 percent of its annual cocoa output domestically, with the bulk exported to processing facilities in Europe, Asia, and North America.
The 50 percent target is expected to significantly increase value retention, create thousands of jobs along the value chain, and reduce Ghana’s long-standing dependence on raw commodity exports.
Priority revival of CPC
To meet the increased domestic processing demand, government has prioritised the resuscitation of the state-owned Cocoa Processing Company.
“Pursuant to this, the state-owned cocoa processing company CPC will be revived as a matter of priority to become the leading processor of Ghana’s cocoa beans,” Dr Ato Forson announced.
The mandatory local processing requirement is to be enshrined in the new Cocoa Board bill, which is expected to be laid before Parliament in the coming months.
The revival of PBC is also expected to restore competition in the cocoa purchasing space and provide farmers with more reliable payment options, particularly as private Licensed Buying Companies grapple with severe liquidity constraints.
The reforms signal government’s firm intent to assert greater state control and participation in the cocoa value chain while pursuing industrialisation objectives through domestic value addition.
