2025 Budget: ‘COCOBOD Owes 32 Billion Cedis’ – Finance Minister Spells Doom For Cocoa Sector
The Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has revealed a gloomy situation in the cocoa sector of Ghana.
“The cocoa sector which has long been the backbone of the Ghanaian economy is sadly on its knees owing to gross mismanagement. Mr. Speaker, the sector faces declining output and financing challenges characterized by unsustainable debt, roll-over contracts and quasi-fiscal expenditures including cocoa roads which, Mr. Speaker, is non-core function of the Ghana COCOBOD”, he stated.
According to him, the cocoa sector has an outstanding debt in billions of cedis.
Delivering the 2025 budget before Parliament today, Dr. Ato Forson noted specifically that COCOBOD’s “outstanding debt amounts to GHC32 billion of which 11.92 billion is due to be paid in the year 2025”.
He further disclosed that “cocoa production has dropped by nearly 50 precent over the past 3 years”.
The Minister added some contracts have been rolled over to this year by the previous government for the new administration to bear the burden of paying the debt.
“These 2023/24 forward sales contracts locked in at lower prices than the current market rates have resulted in revenue losses of about US$840 million for both and impoverished the Ghanaian farmer. The rolled-out cocoa contracts have resulted in a loss of US$495 million this year”, the Minister stressed.
Source: Ghmessenger.com
