Licensed cocoa buying companies say they are open to debt restructuring arrangements as the government rolls out reforms aimed at stabilising Ghana’s cocoa sector.
The move follows the Finance Ministry’s announcement of a new financial model expected to include the issuance of domestic cocoa bonds, revival of state-owned cocoa companies, and increased local cocoa processing.
President of the Licensed Cocoa Buyers Association, Samuel Adimado, says the growing debt burden on members remains a major concern, largely driven by high commercial lending rates.
“Our debt is a huge concern,” he stated. “We are borrowing at interest rates of 35 to 40 percent. If you consider the margins in our operations, the only real opportunity we have is efficiency, and we have been efficient over the past seven years.”
According to him, despite efforts to streamline operations, the current cocoa buying model and delayed payments for supplied beans have worsened liquidity challenges for many companies.
“We are engaging the Ghana Cocoa Board to see how their reform strategy can help address these challenges,” he explained. “One of the key issues is ensuring that immediately we supply cocoa beans, we are paid so that we can also take care of our farmers.”
Mr Adimado emphasised that the debts owed by licensed buyers are purely commercial obligations to banks and not liabilities of the government.
“Our debt is commercial debt. It does not sit with government; it sits with various banks,” he clarified. “It depends on the individual banks and their boards to decide, but if the government can engage the banks to see how we address this issue, it will go a long way.”
He stressed that the association is open to all viable solutions, including debt restructuring or government-facilitated negotiations with financial institutions.
“We are open to all options that will enable us to survive,” he said. “Some of our members have already collapsed, and being collapsed does not mean your debt has been written off.”
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