The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is grappling with unsold cocoa beans due to uncompetitive pricing rather than smuggling, a sharp reversal from last year's situation, Chief Executive Dr Randy Abbey has disclosed.

Speaking on Joy FM's Newsfile programme, Dr Abbey explained that Ghana's cocoa beans have become significantly more expensive compared to other producing countries, creating a pricing gap that has left the country with stockpiles of unsold produce.

"Now, we are where we are because our bean is not competitive, the price of our bean as compared to other origins. Our beans are more expensive," Dr Abbey said, adding that the gap between Ghana's prices and competitor countries has become too wide.

The COCOBOD boss revealed that this season has seen an unusual situation where licensed buying companies have supplied beans to the board. Still, these beans remain unsold due to the pricing challenges.

Dr Abbey drew a stark contrast between the current predicament and the situation that prevailed in the 2023/24 cocoa season, when massive smuggling threatened Ghana's cocoa production.

Last year, when Ghana was paying farmers $3,100 per tonne, neighbouring countries like Togo were offering $6,000 and above – nearly double Ghana's rate. This price differential triggered widespread smuggling that became so severe it required national security intervention.

"Last year, we had massive smuggling. Almost daily, we had arrest reports of smuggling to the extent that we even had national security meetings on smuggling," Dr Abbey recounted.

He explained that the attractive prices in neighbouring countries meant smugglers would come directly onto Ghanaian farms to purchase cocoa, eliminating the need for farmers to transport the beans themselves across borders.

Paradoxically, while this year's pricing structure has eliminated smuggling, it has created a new problem: beans that cannot be sold on the international market due to Ghana's buyer-funded model, making its produce more expensive than competitors operating closer to terminal market prices.

The development comes amid ongoing structural reforms in Ghana's cocoa sector, as the government seeks to address the multiple challenges facing the industry.

Dr Abbey's comments suggest that while one problem – smuggling – has been solved, the reforms have introduced new complications around market competitiveness and the ability to sell Ghana's cocoa production.