COCOBOD says banks will finance 2020/21 buying as usual

The Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) said on Tuesday that its annual pre-export financing will be raised as usual through a syndicated loan, denying a report its usual lenders had declined to underwrite the risk.

Loan Pricing Corporation, a unit of financial data firm Refinitiv, reported last week that financing for purchases during the 2020/21 growing season would be a club loan to reduce risk amid uncertainty related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Cocobod chief executive Joseph Aidoo, however, said in a speech that financial institutions, including Cocobod’s traditional lenders, submitted proposals on June 12 to provide a $1.3 billion syndicated loan for 2020/21.

“Cocobod is currently negotiating the terms of the proposals with the banks, which is the normal practice,” Aidoo said.