COCOBOD says it has pegged the production target for the 2012/2013 crop season at a moderate 800,000 metric tonnes of cocoa beans due to unfavourable weather.
In an interview with B&FT, CEO of COCOBOD Mr. Anthony Fofie said cocoa production is largely dependent on the weather, and that it has not been very favourable lately.
As a result, the board has contracted a loan facility of US$1.5billion for the purchase of cocoa for the 2012/2013 season — US$500million short of the record amount borrowed for the 2011/2012 season.
?Normally you look at your forecast before you ask for the money, so that you can know what you are going to use it for — because you can?t take too much money,? he said.
Mr. Noah Kwasi Amenyah, Public Affairs Manager of the board, also informed B&FT that unfavourable weather has been predicted for West Africa; and if that happens, it will result in lower crop yields.
?We have factored all these things into our calculation. That is why we settled on 800,000 metric tonnes. It will be reviewed when the situation changes significantly,? he noted.
The 800,000 metric tonnes is same as the target that was set for the 2011/2012 season.
Ghana hit a record one million metric tonnes of cocoa in the 2010/2011 season — to much acclaim. Mr. Amenyah said a similar figure could have been achieved this year but for the weather conditions.
When the season closes at the end of September, he said, COCOBOD will be able to tell if the target for 2011/12 has been achieved. ?
Asked whether cocoa production should be solely dependent on rainfall, Mr. Amenyah said being a tree-crop, cocoa cannot be irrigated.
COCOBOD signed the US$1.5billion loan agreement with a club of 13 banks.
At the signing ceremony in Accra, Mr. Fofie said the country is grateful to the banks for showing continued confidence in the Ghanaian economy and for supporting his outfit.
?It is such confidence in our democracy coupled with excellent management of the cocoa sector that has made this possible. We will continue to organise our activities efficiently to ensure this confidence is not misplaced,? he assured.
COCOBOD has since 1993 secured an annual syndicated loan facility for the purchase of cocoa. For the 2011/2012 season, the figure reached a record level of US$2billion.
Mr. Fofie said the board has finished repaying that loan, in spite of the challenges posed by the low prices of cocoa beans during the greater part of that season.
The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Dr. Kwabena Duffour also expressed gratitude to the banks, which included Standard Chartered Bank and Standard Bank, for believing in Ghana.
He said it wi noteworthy that the loan was not backed by a government guarantee but by the produce the loan seeks to support.
?This has been made possible by the hardworking cocoa farmers who always ensure that the produce is available for sale to pay back the loan.?
Mr. Kweku Bedu-Addo, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Ghana, said the annual loan facility to COCOBOD is the largest and most successful non-oil-related deal in sub-Saharan Africa. He, on behalf of the 13 banks, pledged continued support to the cocoa industry.
By Basiru ADAM
