ACCRA: Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is seeking to raise 16.3 billion Ghana cedis (USD1.4 billion) from domestic investors to fund cocoa purchases for the upcoming season, according to a government presentation to investors seen by Reuters.
The national regulator is turning to domestic debt markets to fund its operations after struggling to finance the sector since its decade-old syndicated loan arrangement with international banks collapsed during the 2023/24 season.
A separate arrangement under which international trading houses pre-financed purchases fell through last season, contributing to delays in payments to farmers.
Farmers and buyers have blamed funding challenges for uncertainty over the timing of the new season. Cocoa Capital PLC, a new special purpose vehicle, is expected to issue a first tranche of debt to raise funds this week, comprising a 2.3 billion cedi bond and 4 billion cedi in commercial paper.
Commercial paper with tenors of up to 270 days will be used to finance seasonal cocoa purchases, while bonds with a maturity of up to five years will be used to refinance existing short-term debts held by COCOBOD, according to the presentation made last Thursday. Ghana’s cocoa buyers last week said they were owed about 4 billion cedis by COCOBOD for last season’s crop, and want it paid before the new crop year begins.
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