2021-2024: COCOBOD's excessive spending left suppliers unpaid - Ampem

Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem has blamed what he described as financial mismanagement at COCOBOD for the institution's inability to pay suppliers of fertilisers and agrochemicals for the 2021/2022 crop year.

Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, Ampem said COCOBOD's procurement decisions between 2021 and 2024 far exceeded its financial capacity, leaving the cocoa regulator saddled with debt and unable to honour payments to input suppliers.

"Mr Speaker, COCOBOD procured excessive quantities of fertilisers and agrochemicals beyond its financial capacity between 2021 and 2024. This mismanagement of COCOBOD's finances made it impossible to pay suppliers for the 2021/2022 crop year," he told the House.

Finance Ministry not responsible for COCOBOD supplier debts - Thomas Ampem

He revealed that in the 2021/2022 crop season, COCOBOD procured fertilisers and agrochemicals valued at $455.7 million, despite having budgeted only $312.8 million for the purchases.

"A total of $455.7 million was procured, while only $312.8 million had been provided for in the budget," he added.

Despite failing to settle those obligations, COCOBOD continued to procure additional fertilisers and agrochemicals in 2022, 2023 and 2024, exceeding approved budgetary allocations in each of those years.

Ampem cited the 2023/2024 crop season as a striking example of the scale of the problem. According to him, although COCOBOD budgeted $76.5 million for agrochemicals, it entered into contracts worth approximately $668.6 million.

He said the trend was particularly troubling because the increase in procurement did not correspond with cocoa output. Instead, cocoa production declined over the same period, raising concerns about the utilisation and management of the purchased fertilisers and agrochemicals.

The Deputy Minister noted that the debt owed to input suppliers forms part of a broader financial crisis inherited in the cocoa sector.

He disclosed that COCOBOD has begun settling some of the outstanding obligations, revealing that the institution has paid $25 million to fertiliser and agrochemical suppliers since January 2026 as part of efforts to reduce the debt burden and restore financial stability.

FKA/MA

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