Cocoa farmers in Ghana are sitting on unharvested beans they cannot afford to pick, as payment delays of up to six months drain working capital across the world’s second-largest cocoa producer despite a rain-driven improvement in yields.
Farmers told Reuters this week that outstanding payments from Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) have left them without funds to hire labour or cover basic harvesting costs, putting the mid-crop at risk at a time when output gains are badly needed. Ghana’s cocoa sector supports the livelihoods of around 800,000 farming families.
“I have cocoa on the trees that needs to be harvested, but there is no money to even do that,” said Theophilus Tamakloe, Vice President of the Ghana Cocoa Cooperatives Association, which represents more than 340,000 members. Tamakloe said he has 14 freshly harvested bags totalling 896 kilogrammes sitting in his warehouse, which he has refused to release on credit. “I will only release them to an LBC that pays me instantly,” he said. There are currently around 65 LBCs operating in the country.
Farmer Abdulai Adoswin said he had harvested 300 bags this season, up from 190 at the same point last year, but warned that further gains depended on prompt payment before the season closes between August and September.
Ghana’s cocoa regulator, the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), said it has been disbursing funds to LBCs to clear payments outstanding since November. However, two LBC sources told Reuters they are still waiting to be paid for beans already supplied and sold. “My understanding is that COCOBOD has sold all the beans supplied for the 2025/26 season,” one source said. “We are still waiting to be paid and I really don’t know what is going on anymore,” the source added, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the matter. COCOBOD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The crisis is rooted in a deeper liquidity problem that has gripped the sector for months, forcing the government to cut the fixed farmgate price paid to producers. Ghana has also suffered falling cocoa output over recent seasons due to disease, ageing trees, illegal mining and erratic weather. Bank of Ghana data shows cocoa exports dropped about 20 percent year-on-year to 956.3 million cedis, equivalent to approximately $86 million, in February.
The improved mid-crop yields offer some relief, but they arrive as global cocoa prices have fallen by nearly 75 percent from the record highs recorded in late 2024, reducing the buffer available to cover the sector’s structural pressures.
