Government to Revamp Produce Buying Company as COCOBOD Shifts to Value Addition

Government is moving to revive the Produce Buying Company (PBC)the state-owned cocoa processing company that has struggled in recent years as part of a broader overhaul of COCOBOD aimed at shifting Ghana’s cocoa sector from raw bean exports to domestic value addition.

Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson said Cabinet has approved a new financing and allocation model that will prioritise local processing, strengthen COCOBOD’s balance sheet and reposition PBC as a central pillar of Ghana’s cocoa industrialisation drive.

Under the new framework, COCOBOD will allocate cocoa beans directly to domestic processors to lock in capacity, support value addition and create jobs. With immediate effect, the remainder of cocoa beans for the 2025/2026 season will be reserved exclusively for domestic processing.

From the 2026/2027 cocoa season, at least 50 percent of all COCOBOD cocoa beans will be processed locally, a requirement that will be written into law through a COCOBOD Bill to be laid before Parliament.

PBC at the Centre of the Reset

Dr. Forson said the revival of PBC, which has faced operational and financial difficulties, will be treated as a matter of priority under the reforms.

The company, he explained, is expected to emerge as a leading state-backed processor, anchoring domestic value addition while complementing private-sector processing capacity.

“Revamping PBC is central to our value-addition agenda,” the Finance Minister said, adding that the new policy direction is designed to ensure consistent access to cocoa beans and predictable financing for processors.

Earlier on the same day, Dr. Forson, together with the Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, met with domestic cocoa processors from the private sector, who indicated they have both the capacity and willingness to process more than 50 percent of Ghana’s cocoa output.

An agreement, he said, has been reached for the immediate implementation of the local processing policy.

Balance-Sheet Cleanup to Support PBC Revival

To support the turnaround of PBC and the broader reform agenda, government is also restructuring COCOBOD’s inherited debt burden, which has constrained operations and undermined confidence in the cocoa sector.

Cabinet has directed the Minister for Finance to seek parliamentary approval to convert legacy debts of about GH¢5.8 billion onto the balance sheets of the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Ghana.

Of this amount, GH¢3.7 billion is owed by COCOBOD to the Ministry of Finance. Dr. Forson said the conversion will restore positive equity at COCOBOD and strengthen its credibility in both domestic and international markets.

“This balance-sheet reset is critical to enabling COCOBOD to implement its new financing model and support the revival of PBC,” he said.

In addition, Cabinet has approved the transfer of road-related liabilities worth GH¢4.5 billion from COCOBOD to the Ministry of Roads and Highways and the Ministry of Finance, further easing pressure on the cocoa regulator’s finances.

Legacy Liabilities Exposed

Dr. Forson disclosed that between 2014 and 2024, COCOBOD awarded cocoa road contracts amounting to GH¢26.5 billion, with GH¢21.5 billion of those contracts awarded between 2018 and 2021.

Despite a 2023 agreement under Ghana’s IMF programme to rationalise COCOBOD’s road commitments from GH¢21.7 billion to GH¢6.9 billion, the previous board and management failed to carry out the exercise, leaving a heavy liability overhang.

Strategic Shift

The reforms mark a decisive break from Ghana’s long-standing reliance on raw cocoa exports. By mandating local processing, restructuring debt and reviving the struggling Produce Buying Company, government is seeking to retain more value within the domestic economy while stabilising the cocoa sector’s finances.

If successfully executed, the PBC turnaround—backed by private-sector capacity could redefine COCOBOD’s role from a commodity exporter to a catalyst for agro-industrial growth and employment.

 

 

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