00:00Ghana's cocoa sector is facing a severe financial crisis with licensed buyers owing banks up to $750 million in mounting
00:08debts.
00:09Association President Samuel Adimados says the Ghana Cocoa Board diverted funds to non-co-activities like road construction,
00:17forcing buyers to borrow to pay farmers. Interest, he warns, keeps piling up.
00:23Buyers have delivered 580,000 tons of beans this season but await full payment with another 70,000 tons still
00:33in the fields.
00:34They also owe farmers up to $234 million.
00:38The crisis follows two poor harvest seasons from disease and bad weather,
00:43compounded by a sharp fall in global cocoa prices from $12,000 per ton in 2024 to roughly $4,000
00:52now.
00:52The government has slashed the farm gate price by nearly 30% to reflect market reality
00:58and planning a new domestic cocoa financing scheme.
01:02The cocoa sector accounts for about 10% of Ghana's economy.
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