Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahen Aidoo, says the decision to finance cocoa purchase for the 2024/2025 crop season through zero borrowing arrangement formed part of government’s plan to make the sector more viable and sustainable.
He explained that the zero borrowing arrangement marked a major shift from the existing system of financing cocoa purchase over the years through loans from external sources, and constituted a new financing innovation designed to reduce the cost of borrowing to the board.
Taking his turn at the bi-weekly Minister’s Briefing organised by the Ministry of Information in Accra yesterday, Mr Aidoo said under the new zero financing arrangement, international buyers would pay directly into the Cocoa Marketing Company’s account on behalf of COCOBOD.
This he explained effectively eliminates the previous arrangement where funds were raised overseas through syndicated loans, which had become increasingly expensive.
“The financing arrangement being …