Dr Randy Abbey, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has revealed that COCOBOD is drowning in a GH¢33 billion debt.
According to Randy Abbey, the state cocoa regulator is constantly under pressure from creditors, agrochemical suppliers, banks, and legal entities.
Speaking on Joy News on Thursday, June 5, Dr Abbey detailed, The last time I checked, that debt was close to GH¢33 billion”.
“I have to redo it now because the dollar components might go down as a result of the strength of the Cedi now. But that is the situation”, he added.
Randy Abbey further lamented, “Every day, I’m dealing with either solicitor letters or court issues. And it’s about people that we owe. We’ve owed people for four years, for three years, for two years, for a year.”
He further revealed that creditors are constantly on his neck with frequent visits to COCOBOD headquarters in search of payment.
“I’m sure that when you got here, you waited for about an hour. All those you saw leaving my office were companies that we owed. And the banks are chasing them. And they have also come here to chase us.”
COCOBOD’s alarming debt situation has raised serious concerns about it sustainability and its ability to support Ghana’s cocoa industry.
Meanwhile, amidst COCOBOD’s bad finances, Dr Randy Abbey has announced that a new cocoa producer price will be revealed in August 2025, surpassing Ivory Coast’s price.
CEO Dr Randy Abbey stated, “President John Mahama, the desire he has is that farmers must have profits, but we must also let you know the truth.
What I can tell you is that the president this year’s season will be open in August 2025 2026 and we are going to give a new producer price and the new producer price will be more than that of Ivory Coast”, he added.
