President John Dramani Mahama has indicated that Ghana is moving to prioritise local cocoa processing as part of efforts to reduce reliance on raw bean exports and protect the sector from global price shocks.
His remarks come in the wake of a sharp decline in international cocoa prices, which compelled the government to cut the producer price from GH¢3,625 to GH¢2,587 per bag
Commenting on recent developments in the cocoa industry while addressing the Ghanaian community in Philadelphia on Thursday, March 26, 2026, the President said the fall in international prices and growing discontent among farmers should serve as a turning point for the country’s cocoa policy direction.
He noted that nearly seven decades after independence, Ghana continues to export largely unprocessed cocoa beans, limiting the country’s ability to capture greater value from the commodity.
“It is because for almost seventy years after we gained independence, we’re still exporting raw beans to the world… what has happened in the international market should be a wake-up call for us,” he said.
President Mahama revealed that government is taking steps to reform the financing model of cocoa purchases, moving away from dependence on international traders who traditionally pre-finance the sector.
Under the existing system, he explained, cocoa beans often serve as collateral for funds advanced by external buyers.
However, the new approach will see Ghana mobilise its own resources to purchase cocoa from farmers, thereby retaining full control over the commodity.
“Now, we say we are going to raise the money ourselves and buy our own cocoa… if we raise our money and buy our cocoa, it is not collateral to anybody and so we can decide what to do with it,” he stated.
The President added that a significant portion of cocoa beans will be allocated to local processors to boost domestic value addition before export.
“We are saying that we are going to allocate bulk of our cocoa to the local processors to process that cocoa before we export it,” he added.
