The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has increased the producer price of cocoa for the 2026/2027 season from GH¢41,392 to GH¢42,400 per tonne, as the sector undergoes sweeping reforms aimed at restoring financial sustainability and protecting farmer incomes.
Chief Executive of COCOBOD, Dr. Randy Abbey, announced the new producer price at the official opening of the new cocoa season in Accra on Friday. The new price, effective September 25, 2026, represents an increase of GH¢1,008 per tonne over the previous price — an increase of about 2.4 percent. On a per-bag basis, farmers will now receive GH¢2,650 per 64-kilogramme bag, up from GH¢2,587 in the previous season. The new price was finalised following extensive consultations involving the Ministry of Finance, the Chamber of Cocoa Marketers, Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs), hauliers, processors, and cocoa farmers.
Dr. Abbey also announced a realised Free-On-Board (FOB) price of US$2,650 per tonne for the 2026/2027 season. According to COCOBOD, the new producer price represents 71.18 percent of the realised FOB value, exceeding the minimum 70 percent guarantee enshrined in the new Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 2026 (Act 1182).
The new pricing framework follows the passage of the Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 2026, which provides for an automatic adjustment mechanism linked to international cocoa prices, exchange rates, and other relevant factors, while guaranteeing farmers at least 70 percent of the gross FOB price. The Act also strengthens the protection of cocoa farms from illegal small-scale mining, introduces a new financing framework to support increased domestic value addition, and prohibits COCOBOD from engaging in quasi-fiscal activities.
Under the law, cocoa farms have been granted protected status, with new fines and penalties — including lengthy prison sentences — for those who destroy cocoa farms through illegal mining. The government also aims to ensure that at least 50 percent of Ghana’s cocoa beans are processed locally.
The Ghana Cocoa Board Act, 2026 was assented to by President John Dramani Mahama on August 26, 2026, fulfilling a long-standing pledge to guarantee farmers a minimum of 70 percent of the gross FOB price.
From Syndicated Loans to Domestic Capital
The 2026/2027 season begins against the backdrop of a fundamental shift in how Ghana finances its cocoa purchases. For more than three decades, COCOBOD relied on annual syndicated loans from international banks to fund cocoa purchases. That model faltered in 2023/24 when weak production and financing problems left COCOBOD struggling to meet forward-sale obligations; output came in at 432,145 tonnes against an initial forecast of 800,000 tonnes. COCOBOD dropped syndicated borrowing for 2024/25 and turned to buyer pre-financing, but that arrangement also fell through in 2025/26, contributing to delayed payments to farmers.
In response, the government has moved to replace the offshore syndicated loan structure with funding sourced from Ghana’s domestic capital market. A special purpose vehicle, Cocoa Capital PLC, incorporated in August 2026 and wholly owned by COCOBOD, is seeking to raise up to GH¢16.3 billion (approximately US$1.4 billion) through a new domestic note programme.
The issuance comprises commercial paper with tenors of up to 270 days — approximately GH¢14 billion — to finance seasonal cocoa purchases, and bonds with maturities of up to five years, approximately GH¢2.3 billion, to refinance existing short-term debts held by COCOBOD. The securities will be listed on the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM), and repayment will be backed by assigned cocoa export receivables generated from selected forward sales contracts.
A first tranche of GH¢2.3 billion in bonds and GH¢4 billion in commercial paper was expected to be issued this week. Eligible participants include commercial banks, pension funds, insurance companies, stockbrokers, high-net-worth individuals, and other institutional investors. Dr. Abbey has cited the size of Ghana’s pension-fund industry — which he put at more than GH¢100 billion — as evidence of available local liquidity.
“The new financing approach represents a shift from Ghana’s longstanding reliance on international syndicated loans and the buyer-financed model adopted in recent years,” Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson said at an investor engagement in Accra last week. Government is also converting COCOBOD’s legacy debt owed to the Ministry of Finance and Bank of Ghana into equity, while cocoa road contracts are being transferred to the Ministry of Finance to enable COCOBOD to focus on its core mandate.
Production Beats Forecast, But Challenges Loom
The new season opens on a relatively positive note. Ghana’s cocoa production for the 2025/26 season reached approximately 771,000 tonnes, beating COCOBOD’s initial forecast of 650,000 tonnes, according to a report reviewed by Reuters. The figure represents a 27.7 percent increase over the 603,840 tonnes recorded in the 2024/25 season.
However, COCOBOD expects production to fall by at least 16 percent in the 2026/2027 season, citing adverse weather, disease, the production cycle of cocoa trees, and the impact of illegal mining. Output remains far below the 1,047,385 tonnes recorded in 2021, when Ghana was at its peak production.
The sector faces mounting pressure from illegal small-scale mining, known locally as galamsey, which has destroyed more than 100,000 acres of high-yield plantations across the Ashanti, Western, and Central regions. COCOBOD has linked illegal mining to the destruction of productive cocoa farms in areas such as Wassa Akropong and Akwatia. Farmers in the Amansie West District have described the financial pressure to sell their lands to miners, with one telling JoyNews, “Many farmers sell their lands because of quick money, forgetting that cocoa land is a natural resource that generates income not just for today but for future generations as well”.
Other challenges include ageing tree stock, disease pressure, high production costs, smuggling, and the increasing demands of international sustainability regulations.
Positioning for European Market Compliance
Dr. Abbey also announced that Ghana has completed the full rollout of the Ghana Cocoa Traceability System (GCTS) across all growing regions, positioning the country to comply with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which takes effect on December 30, 2026.
The GCTS enables cocoa beans to be tracked from farm level through the supply chain to export ports. Cocoa is sorted and bagged at the farm, with each bag tagged by barcode and scanned at community, district, and port levels. Farmers receive QR-coded identification cards linked to the geolocation of their farms, allowing authorities to verify that the cocoa was not grown on land deforested after the EUDR cut-off date.
“The Ghana cocoa traceability system positions Ghana to supply the European Union market with cocoa that is traceable, deforestation-free, child-labor-free, and legally produced,” Dr. Abbey stated. The EU has commended Ghana’s progress, with EU Ambassador to Ghana Rune Skinnebach saying the country “has hit the ground running and made remarkable progress in preparing for compliance”.
Cocoa accounts for 95 percent of the export value of the seven commodities covered by the EUDR in Ghana, underscoring the regulation’s significance for the sector.
Farmer Support Beyond the Price
Beyond the producer price, COCOBOD announced an expanded suite of agricultural incentives for the new season. These include the continued supply of free fertilizer, free hybrid cocoa seedlings, and the cocoa disease and pest control programme, aimed at reducing the production burden on farmers and increasing productivity. Operational fees and margins for industry stakeholders — including hauliers, buyers, warehouse operators, and quality control inspectors — will remain unchanged for the crop year.
The new producer price is expected to shape purchasing arrangements and farmer incomes in the new season, as Ghana navigates one of the most significant transitions in its cocoa sector’s history. With production projected to decline and the financing model undergoing fundamental change, the coming months will test the resilience of an industry that has long been the backbone of Ghana’s agricultural economy.
