The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has dismissed assertions by the Minority in Parliament that its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Joseph Boahen Aidoo provided false information regarding cocoa forward sales.

In a statement, COCOBOD clarified that it employs a diversified approach to cocoa sales, incorporating forward, spot, and prepayment strategies based on market dynamics, funding considerations, and collateral requirements.

Contrary to the impression created by the NDC MPs, COCOBOD emphasised that allocating 338,600 metric tonnes of cocoa as collateral for a syndicated loan does not imply that the remaining quantity has been or will be exclusively sold at spot prices.

The statement highlighted that forward sales serve the dual purpose of securing syndicated loans and strategically managing cocoa stocks.

“The use of forward sales is a deliberate strategy aimed at price risk mitigation and stock management,” it added.

COCOBOD further clarified that at the time of determining the producer price for the 2023/2024 season, a significant portion of the cocoa had already been sold.

As such, the CEO's statement was "accurate and should not be characterised as misinformation or a lie."

• Read also: COCOBOD CEO must apologise to Mahama – Minority

The Minority in Parliament had called for an immediate apology from Mr Boahen Aidoo, to former President John Dramani Mahama.

The demand stemmed from what the Minority perceives as a false statement made by Mr Boahen Aidoo regarding Ghana’s 2023/24 cocoa forward sales.

In a press release issued on Tuesday, November 21, the Minority, led by the Ranking Member on the Food and Agriculture Committee in Parliament, insists the COCOBOD CEO erred when he questioned Mr. Mahama’s understanding of how the producer price of cocoa is determined.

The Minority maintained that the former President was accurate in his criticism of the recent announcement of a GH¢1,308 producer price per bag of cocoa.