The Produce Buying Company (PBC) Limited, once the dominant player in Ghana’s cocoa purchasing sector, is fighting for survival after financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2023, revealed the state owned enterprise is technically insolvent with negative total equity of GHC 240.055 million.
Independent auditors issued a qualified opinion on the company’s accounts, citing material uncertainties about PBC’s ability to continue as a going concern. The audit findings paint a grim picture of Ghana’s largest Licensed Buying Company (LBC), which has seen its fortunes decline dramatically despite handling approximately 30 percent of the nation’s cocoa purchases.
The company’s working capital position deteriorated from negative GHC 126.95 million in 2022 to negative GHC 142.92 million in 2023, meaning current liabilities significantly exceed current assets. At the group level, which includes subsidiaries Golden Bean Hotel Limited and PBC Shea Limited, negative working capital worsened from GHC 251.99 million to GHC 263.66 million over the same period.
PBC reported a loss after tax of GHC 34.109 million for the group and GHC 31.205 million for the company in 2023, continuing a troubling pattern of consecutive annual losses. Auditors noted that compared to 2021, the company’s turnover had plummeted by 50 percent, representing the lowest revenue in a decade.
The financial crisis extends beyond operational losses. PBC carries long term debt of GHC 377.656 million for the group, including a substantial USD 10 million loan from the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) that became overdue in 2019 but remains unpaid. High finance costs totaling GHC 19.953 million continue eroding any potential operating profit.
A particularly troubling audit finding involves uncertainty over asset ownership. Auditors could not verify the company’s ownership of sheds and buildings ceded by Ghana Cocoa Board because title deeds have not been sighted, though government assurances have been provided.
The directors acknowledged in their assessment that PBC’s survival depends entirely on three unguaranteed conditions: timely funding from Cocoa Board, successful restructuring and asset disposal, and raising new equity capital. Without continued loan support, the company would be unable to settle its liabilities or maintain operations.
The crisis reached a critical point in January 2024 when an Accra High Court ruled in favor of six commercial banks seeking to recover approximately GHC 495.4 million in outstanding debts. The creditors, including Agriculture Development Bank (ADB), Bank of Africa Ghana, CalBank PLC, GCB Bank PLC, Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), and United Bank for Africa (UBA) Ghana, began identifying and attaching PBC’s immovable properties for potential sale.
Staff members staged protests in May 2024, demanding investigations into alleged financial mismanagement after it emerged that PBC owed COCOBOD GHC 280 million related to over 5,000 tons of undeclared cocoa stock from the 2022-2023 period. Workers also complained about unpaid salaries and pension contributions spanning six years and 10 months.
Managing Director Alhaji Seidu Yonye, appointed following the December 2024 elections that returned former President John Mahama to office, told TV3 in June 2025 that total debt had ballooned to over GHC 600 million, with commercial bank debt alone exceeding GHC 230 million. He revealed the company has not been audited since 2023 and was not operational for an extended period.
In what appears to be a recovery effort, Yonye announced in August 2025 that PBC had secured a major deal with international partners to purchase 100,000 metric tons of cocoa valued at GHC 5.2 billion for the 2025-2026 farming season, with an initial inflow of GHC 70 million already received.
Industry analysts suggest the crisis at PBC reflects broader challenges in Ghana’s cocoa sector, including the collapse of domestic cocoa purchasing infrastructure, difficulties securing syndicated loans, and competition from other Licensed Buying Companies. The company’s market share dropped from over 30 percent historically to just eight percent over a five year period ending in 2023, according to reports seen by industry publication Cocoaradar.
Government entities including the Ministry of Finance and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) together hold approximately 75 percent of PBC shares. The company was previously delisted from the Ghana Stock Exchange for non compliance, adding to its regulatory and operational risks.
No dividend was recommended for shareholders for the year ended September 2023. The company’s accumulated losses have resulted in deeply negative retained earnings of GHC 610.925 million at the group level.
