Ghana cocoa scandal: Accusations of purchasing smuggled crop with government funds

In a development that raises growing concerns about the cocoa sector in West Africa, Ghana’s cocoa regulator, the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), has accused some officials within licensed purchasing companies of using government funds to buy cheap, smuggled cocoa beans from Côte d’Ivoire, depriving local farmers of their income and threatening Ghana’s global reputation for producing high-quality cocoa.

Mixing imported cocoa with local production

Jake Kodjo Simhar, the council’s director of special services, told Reuters that these practices have spread to four border regions between the two countries, noting that the situation represents a remarkable shift compared to previous years, when smuggling operations were running in the opposite direction from Ghana to Ivory Coast and Togo.

Simahar explained that the large price difference is the main driver behind this phenomenon, as cocoa beans are sold in Ivory Coast for about 1,200 cedis, equivalent to about $107 for a 64-kilogram package, while the official price for farmers in Ghana is about 2,587 cedis, creating an incentive to make illicit profits through smuggling.

He pointed out that some employees and intermediaries exploit this difference for personal gain, by funding intermediaries to buy cocoa from within Ivory Coast and bring it into the Ghanaian market through illegal means.

For its part, the Association of Licensed Cocoa Buying Companies in Ghana denied the companies' responsibility for these practices, stressing that any transgressions were due to individual acts motivated by greed, and not an approved institutional policy.

These developments come amid a prolonged liquidity crisis that has plagued Ghana’s cocoa sector for months, with many farmers not having received payments for crops delivered since November 2025, further complicating the economic and social situation in agricultural areas.

Council officials warned that mixing low-quality imported grains with local production could erode the excellent reputation of Ghanaian cocoa in global markets, which could negatively affect its competitiveness.

As part of efforts to combat this phenomenon, the council's anti-smuggling unit announced the seizure of more than 100 bags of smuggled cocoa during a security operation in the Ncrankunta region, with the arrest of four suspects, in a move described by officials as the beginning of a broader campaign to pursue those involved.

The council confirmed that it had opened extensive investigations into the incident, stressing that any proven institutional involvement would be met with severe penalties for the parties concerned.