Ghana cocoa purchases fall due to election and financing delays

ACCRA, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Ghana’s cocoa purchases fell in December due to election-related delays in payments from the state marketing board and reduced financing for exporters, farmers and buyers told Reuters, expressing concern that the delays could fuel smuggling. Cocoa prices hit record highs last year because of poor harvests in the world’s two biggest producers, Ivory Coast and Ghana. While West Africa has seen some recovery this 2024/25 season, markets still expect potential supply disruptions. Ghana’s marketing board, Cocobod, switched from a three-decade-old marketing model to a new system this season where global traders and buyers are largely responsible for financing and bringing in much of the cocoa crop. They are then reimbursed when Cocobod pays for the beans. However, sources at licensed cocoa buyers (LBCs) said the Dec. 7 election, won by opposition candidate and former president John Dramani Mahama, had disrupted the new system due to uncertainty surrounding the ...