The Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has announced plans to introduce fresh legislative reforms for the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) following government plans to restructure the cocoa sector, strengthen financial sustainability and expand local value addition.

Speaking at the Ishmael Yamson & Associates Business Roundtable on Thursday, May 28, 2026, he stressed that the government’s intention is not to abolish COCOBOD but to reposition the institution to operate more effectively.

“Cocoa board needs reforms. I do not believe in scrapping it, but I believe that we need to reform the cocoa board,” he stated.

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These reforms come at a time of growing pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for structural changes within COCOBOD to reduce operational costs, improve efficiency, and restore long-term financial stability in the sector.

According to him, although COCOBOD played a critical role in Ghana’s economy as a major foreign-exchange earner, the institution has faced governance and operational challenges that require urgent intervention.

“Cocoa Board has served Ghana well. It has been a major source of foreign exchange. It has obviously suffered some mismanagement. It’s a fact that we need to recognise,” Dr Forson said.

Forson further indicated that the government intends to significantly increase local cocoa processing as part of its industrialisation agenda.

“For example, the bill was set to make sure that at least 50% of our raw cocoa is processed locally,” he stated.

He argued that Ghana can no longer continue exporting raw cocoa beans without fully benefiting from the value chain.

“We’ve been shipping out our cocoa for too long, and so we want to stop that,” the Finance Minister added.

He also revealed that the government will, in the coming weeks, lay before Parliament a new bill aimed at restructuring COCOBOD and reforming its operations.

“Government has taken a decision to reform cocoa board. I’ll be going to Parliament in the next few weeks to introduce a new bill to Parliament, reforming the cocoa board and changing the structure of cocoa board,” he said.

ANAS/SEA

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