NEW COCOA BOARD BILL WILL ENHANCE OPERATIONS OF LOCAL PROCESSORS - COCOBOD CE ASSURES

Date: 06th August 2026

The Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Randy Abbey, has assured local processing companies that the new Cocobod Bill will enhance the investment climate and make their operations more competitive. 

He gave the assurance when he met with representatives of local cocoa processing companies this week to discuss the newly passed Ghana Cocoa Board Bill and its implications for the processing sub-sector. 

The engagement formed part of ongoing stakeholder consultations following the Bill's passage by Parliament.

According to the Chief Executive, one of the central aims of the new law was to guarantee processors reliable access to beans, noting that the Bill's 50% processing threshold was designed specifically to give investors the confidence needed to commit capital to local processing.

Dr. Abbey noted that the old funding arrangement, under which the country relied heavily on international buyers demanding 80% upfront funding with no room for competitive pricing, had become unsustainable, compounding a cocoa bond obligation running into billions of cedis annually through 2027 and 2028. 

A new, more sustainable funding model, he said, was therefore no longer optional but necessary.

He further outlined how the Bill entrenches COCOBOD's operations against administrative arbitrariness, pointing to the legislated 70% Gross FOB price guarantee as a safeguard against the kind of unilateral pricing decisions that had, in the past, driven up debts and backlogs.

On processing specifically, he assured the companies present that the Bill creates a more enabling environment for value addition, positioning local processors, rather than raw bean exports, at the centre of the sector's future growth.

The Chief Executive also used the opportunity to address misconceptions about the Bill's passage, clarifying that it was not a rushed piece of legislation but one that had first been presented to Parliament as far back as 2025. 

The COCOBOD CE noted that beyond domestic reforms, the Bill also positions the industry to meet international standards, including the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), traceability, quality, sustainability and ethical sourcing requirements, an increasingly non-negotiable condition for market access in Ghana's key export destinations.

On their parts, representatives of the processors expressed broad support for the reforms and declared their commitments towards ensuring its successful implementation.