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Parliament has approved an $800 million loan agreement between the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and a consortium of banks and financial institutions.
The loan is to finance the purchase of cocoa beans for the 2023/2024 Crop Season.
It is also expected to be used to purchase about 47 percent of the projected 850,000 tonnes of cocoa beans from farmers through the Licensed Buying Companies for the 2023/2024 cocoa season.
The loan was approved by the Huse on Friday, November 17.
COCOBOD had earlier said in a statement that its bankers had assured of making funds available in record time for the purchasing season.
The 2023/2024 loan facility disbursement is proposed to be utilized for cocoa purchases and related operations as listed below:
Farmers’ services cost
– cocoa diseases and pest controls
– fertilizer distribution and application
– farmer pension scheme
– cocoa roads
– industry inputs (jute sacks, twine, stencil ink, passbooks.)
– child education support
Share of Net FOB
-payments to farmers
– buyer’s margin
– hauler’s margin
– international marketing operations (storage and shipping operations)
– disinfestation/grading and sealing cost
-finance cost
-COCOBOD and divisions cost
other costs/scale inspection and phytosanitary inspections
-rehabilitation
-planting of coffee and sheanut operations