Several cocoa farmers in Ghana say payment delays of up to six months are affecting their ability to harvest the commodity.
According to a Reuters report, the farmers said the delays have drained their working capital, making it difficult to hire labour or cover harvesting costs.
Ghana’s cocoa sector supports the livelihoods of an estimated 800,000 farming families.
“I have cocoa on the trees that needs to be harvested but there is no money to even do that,” Vice President of the Ghana Cocoa Cooperatives Association, Theophilus Tamakloe is quoted as saying.
He added that the challenge is also affecting more than 340,000 members.
Tamakloe said he currently has 14 freshly harvested bags, weighing 896kg, stored in his warehouse, which he is refusing to release to buyers on credit.
“I will only release them to an LBC (Licensed Buying Company) that pays me instantly,” he said.
There are currently about 65 Licensed Buying Companies operating in Ghana.
A cocoa farmer, Abdulai Adoswin, said he had already harvested 300 bags this season, up from 190 last year, but warned that progress depends on timely payments before the season ends in August or September.
Ghana’s cocoa regulator, COCOBOD, said it is disbursing funds to Licensed Buying Companies to clear arrears dating back to November. However, two LBC sources say they are still awaiting payments for beans already supplied.
“My understanding is that COCOBOD has sold all the beans supplied for the 2025/26 season,” a source who requested anonymity told Reuters.
“We are still waiting to be paid and I really don’t know what is going on anymore,” the source added.
COCOBOD did not immediately respond to requests for comment, saying it would look into the matter.
Meanwhile, Ghana is facing a prolonged liquidity crisis affecting the cocoa sector, forcing a reduction in the fixed price paid to farmers. Production has also declined due to crop diseases, ageing farms, illegal mining, and erratic weather conditions.
Data from the Bank of Ghana shows cocoa exports fell by about 20% year-on-year to 956.3 million cedis ($86 million) in February 2026.
Source: Ghanaweb