GH¢1.2bn Payment ‘Not Enough’ — Oppong Nkrumah Says COCOBOD Owes LBCs GH¢10bn

Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minority Spokesperson on Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee, has claimed that the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) owes Licensed Cocoa Buyers (LBCs) approximately GH¢10 billion for cocoa beans supplied over recent months.

According to him, the debt has accumulated from November 2025 to date. He explained that the Minority caucus became aware of the outstanding amount following discussions with the LBCs.

Speaking on Hot Issues on TV3 Ghana on Sunday, February 22, Oppong Nkrumah stated that LBCs have continued purchasing cocoa reportedly valued at about GH¢10 billion without receiving payment from COCOBOD.

He said the cocoa was sourced from roughly one million farmers nationwide at a price of GH¢3,625 per bag, bringing the total estimated debt to about GH¢10 billion, based on figures shared by the buyers.

Meanwhile, COCOBOD recently announced that it had disbursed GH¢1.091 billion to the LBCs. The amount included an earlier payment of GH¢237 million covering 50,000 metric tonnes of cocoa and a subsequent release of GH¢854 million.

However, Oppong Nkrumah described the payment as insufficient compared to the total outstanding debt, arguing that GH¢1.2 billion represents only a small fraction of the alleged GH¢10 billion owed.

He maintained that government should prioritise clearing the existing debt before outlining future reforms for the cocoa sector.

According to him, it is premature to discuss long-term restructuring while a substantial portion of payments owed to cocoa farmers and buyers remains unsettled.

He called on the government to disclose the exact amount owed and present a clear plan for settling the outstanding balance before moving on to other policy initiatives within the sector.