Cocobod reports record GHS 2 billion profit for 2022/2023 crop season
The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana’s Cocoa Board (Cocobod), Joseph Boahen Aidoo, has announced a remarkable turnaround in the organization’s financial performance, reporting a profit exceeding GH₵2 billion for the 2022/2023 fiscal year. This marks a significant recovery from the GH₵2 billion loss incurred in 2021.
In an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, Mr. Aidoo detailed the strategic decisions underpinning this financial resurgence. He emphasized that the prior year’s loss stemmed from a deliberate policy choice to sustain payments to cocoa farmers despite Cocobod’s financial strain. This decision was driven by a broader commitment to national interest, aiming to stabilize the cocoa farming sector amidst threats from illegal mining and crop substitution.
“Today, the industry has survived, and Cocobod is healthy,” Aidoo stated. “In 2022/2023, we made over GH₵2 billion in profit. This will be formally published once it passes through the board.”
The CEO highlighted the critical period when Cocobod faced the dilemma of cutting farmer payments to mitigate losses, a move that risked exacerbating the shift towards more profitable but less sustainable activities such as illegal mining and alternative cash crops. Instead, maintaining farmer payments was seen as essential to preserving the integrity of Ghana’s cocoa sector, described by Aidoo as the nation’s “backbone and oxygen.”
Despite these gains, the cocoa industry in Ghana continues to grapple with significant challenges, including adverse weather conditions, disease outbreaks, and the impact of illegal gold mining on cocoa farms. Additionally, cross-border smuggling of cocoa beans remains a problem, driven by higher prices in neighboring countries.
The global cocoa market has felt the impact of these issues, with chocolate makers raising prices as cocoa values have surged, driven by successive years of poor harvests in Ghana and Ivory Coast, which together account for 60% of global production. Reports indicate that Ghana is considering delaying the delivery of up to 350,000 tons of cocoa beans to the next season due to poor crop yields.
Mr Aidoo’s leadership and strategic decisions appear to have placed Cocobod on a firmer financial footing, positioning the organization to navigate the complex challenges ahead while ensuring the sustainability of Ghana’s critical cocoa industry.
