COCOBOD Reports GHS 2.3 Billion Profit Following Debt Restructuring
Ghana’s cocoa marketing board, Cocobod, achieved a remarkable turnaround in the 2022/23 fiscal year, recording a profit of GH¢2.3 billion ($149.84 million) after enduring six consecutive years of losses, according to an auditor general’s report obtained by Reuters.
This recovery is primarily attributed to a comprehensive debt restructuring initiative, which drastically reduced financing costs from 34% to 13%.
The report reveals that the cocoa regulator’s first profit in years stemmed from several critical factors: surging global cocoa prices, increased cocoa bean sales, currency stability, and improved cost management.
Cocobod’s revenue surged by 41.7%, reaching GH¢17.7 billion in 2023 due to heightened cocoa bean sales.
Despite these promising developments, the audit cautions that Cocobod continues to grapple with liquidity challenges, raising concerns about its ability to meet short-term financial obligations.
The global cocoa market has experienced a significant price surge this year, driven by disastrous harvests in Ghana and Ivory Coast, which together account for 60% of the world’s cocoa production.
Ghana, the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, has been undertaking an extensive restructuring of its $30 billion debt, including cocoa sector liabilities, as part of a strategy to implement a $3 billion, three-year International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
This initiative aims to help the country recover from its most severe economic crisis in a generation. Last month, Ghana concluded a deal with its official creditor committee and reached an agreement in principle with two bondholder groups to restructure approximately $13 billion of its debt, marking significant milestones in the nation’s debt overhaul process.
This progress follows a domestic debt programme in 2023, which involved exchanging various bonds, including cocoa bills, for long-dated instruments at lower yields.
