The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has announced immediate salary reductions for its executive management and senior staff in response to a deepening liquidity crisis that has left tens of thousands of cocoa farmers unpaid for beans delivered since November 2025.
In a press release dated Monday, February 16, COCOBOD Chief Executive Dr Randy Abbey confirmed that Executive Management has accepted a 20 per cent salary reduction while Senior Staff have taken a 10 per cent cut, both effective immediately and applicable for the remainder of the 2025/2026 crop year. The board described the decision as part of broader cost-containment measures aimed at aligning expenditure with revenue.
Management stated that additional steps including procurement reforms and a staff rationalisation exercise are being implemented simultaneously to stabilise the board’s finances. The statement did not disclose the size of the liquidity gap or projected savings from the pay cuts.
The salary reductions arrive days after Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson reduced the cocoa producer price by approximately 28 per cent at a press conference on February 12. The new farmgate price is set at Ghana cedis (GH¢) 2,587 per bag, equivalent to GH¢41,392 per tonne, down from GH¢3,625 per bag set at the start of the 2025/2026 crop season. The minister attributed the reduction to a sharp decline in global cocoa prices from approximately 10,000 United States dollars (USD) per tonne in late 2024 to around USD4,000 per tonne currently.
At the centre of the crisis is a commodity pricing mismatch. At current international prices, COCOBOD cannot sell purchased cocoa profitably while simultaneously honouring the previous farmgate price, leaving purchased stocks warehoused with no buyers and revenue inflows at a standstill. The board has reportedly paused acceptance of new cocoa beans from Licensed Buying Companies due to insufficient liquidity to pay for existing stocks.
Dr Abbey acknowledged the severity of the situation at a Cocoa House press conference on February 6. He disclosed that while COCOBOD has sold more than 530,000 tonnes of cocoa this season, approximately 50,000 tonnes remain with farmers without buyers, a direct consequence of Ghana’s non-competitive pricing structure relative to global market rates.
Industry analysts attribute part of the crisis to a shift in trading strategy by the current COCOBOD management. The previous administration had consistently sold forward contracts for upcoming crops, providing price certainty and protecting against market volatility. The current management paused forward contracting after assuming office in January 2025, opting to wait for spot market sales in anticipation of even higher prices. When global prices subsequently collapsed, COCOBOD was exposed to full downside risk without the protection of pre-agreed forward contracts.
The government has also confirmed that COCOBOD carries an outstanding debt of approximately GH¢32 billion, accumulated from years of subsidised farmgate pricing, operational financing and syndicated trade finance facilities. President John Mahama has directed the Attorney-General to conduct a criminal investigation and forensic audit into COCOBOD’s operations over the past eight years.
Finance Minister Forson assured that unpaid farmer arrears would be settled and that farmers would receive 90 per cent of the gross Free On Board (FOB) price going forward, exceeding the internationally recommended minimum of 70 per cent. A new COCOBOD Bill is expected to be presented to Parliament to establish an automatic producer price adjustment mechanism linked to world market prices and exchange rate movements.
The broader social impact of the crisis is significant. Farming communities across cocoa-growing regions in the Ashanti, Western and Brong-Ahafo regions have reported severe economic disruption as labourers, local traders, transporters and input suppliers who depend on seasonal cocoa income face acute cash shortages.
Ghana produces approximately 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes of cocoa annually, making it the world’s second-largest producer behind Cote d’Ivoire. Cocoa export revenues typically account for between 20 and 25 per cent of Ghana’s total foreign exchange earnings, underlining the sector’s macroeconomic significance.
