COCOBOD CEO accuses Russians of involvement in cocoa smuggling from Ghana
Chief Executive Officer of Cocobod, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, has attributed the shortfall in Ghana’s cocoa production to bad weather conditions, bean disease, illegal mining, and smuggling activities being perpetrated by some Russians working with their Ghanaian counterparts.
According to Aidoo, foreign actors, particularly Russians operating in Guinea and Togo, are capitalizing on vulnerabilities within Ghana’s cocoa supply chain by purchasing cocoa beans directly from farmers and selling them on the black market.
“There are some Russians in Guinea and Togo and they want to buy cocoa spots, they have nothing to lose. They don’t buy chemicals for farmers, they don’t buy fertilizers for farmers so they have nothing to lose. So they can sell spots and sell at $10,000.
“It is not our farmers who are selling to them, we have nation wreckers, and they are selling to them,” he posited.
Despite recent arrests, Aidoo expresses frustration at the persistence of illicit practices and warns of dire consequences should the issue remain unaddressed.
“Some have been imprisoned, and you know the minimum sentence is five years, but people still dare,” he lamented.
Revenue from cocoa production has declined by more than $500 million in the first quarter of this year compared to the production recorded same period last year.
According to the CEO of COCOBOD, aside from the smuggling activities being perpetuated by the Russians, extremely bad weather conditions are to be blamed for the low production of cocoa by the country.
“What has really affected our production this morning can be attributed to the extreme weather conditions,” he quipped.
