Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), the country’s cocoa regulator has accrued debt to the tune of 10 billion cedis ($2.2 billion) having missed production target the previous year.
Having fallen short from an earmarked 850,000 tons to 778,000 metric tons of beans in the 2015-16 fiscal year, the PRO of COCOBOD says the Board has accrued a lot of debt.
In this current season, due to the slump of prices of cocoa that decreased than one-third of prices in the middle of the past year, the board has lost $1 billion in revenue.
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According Mr. Amenyah, the losses are in part as a result of an overspending the board did, using more the original budgeted $150 million on roads in cocoa-growing areas by almost five times.
The Board was hoping to if the price was kept stable, those debts could be recovered. Unfortunately, the cost of cocoa has gone downhill.
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Cocoa delivery has risen by 0.3% according to the latest data from ICE Futures U.S and has amounted to a 6.4 percent decline in cocoa prices. Inspite of incline in prices, the board says it has no plans on cutting down on farmer’s pays.