The Licensed Cocoa Buyers Association of Ghana (LICOBAG) has attributed the deepening crisis in the cocoa sector to what it describes as a flawed sales strategy by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), its trading arm, the Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC), and a broader lack of commitment to structural reform within the industry.

Addressing journalists at a press conference on Thursday, February 5 in Accra, the Association said the current off-taker shipment and sales arrangements have left the industry exposed at a time of heightened market volatility.

“We believe that the COCOBOD/CMC off-taker shipment arrangement, which is driven by the overall sales strategy, is mainly to blame for the current crisis the industry is facing,” LICOBAG's Executive Secretary, Victus Dzah said.

The Association questioned the coherence of the current trading approach, noting sharp contradictions between successive seasons.

“Why should we move from a period of roll-overs in the previous season because COCOBOD could not deliver on its contracts, to a situation where cocoa produced by farmers cannot be bought because our pricing mechanism is not competitive enough?” he asked.

According to LICOBAG, these outcomes point to a failure by traders to act decisively when global prices were favourable, despite credible intelligence warning of an impending market surplus.

“Our traders were not proactive enough to enter the market and sell when prices were high, until they crashed right before our eyes,” Mr Dzah noted, adding that market signals had clearly indicated that terminal prices were likely to fall, unlike the previous year.

The consequences of this misalignment, LICOBAG said, are now reverberating across the cocoa value chain.

“Stocks delivered to port since December 2025 have not been paid for by COCOBOD, as sales and shipments are not going on.”

He added that cocoa stored in upcountry warehouses, already purchased from farmers, remains unpaid, while significant volumes are still being held by farmers due to the slowdown in buying.

“Some of these stocks are being stored in fertiliser bags, posing imminent quality hazards.”

The Association cautioned that cocoa earmarked for sale in the second half of the season, between March and August, is now in jeopardy, as falling terminal market prices clash with the current producer price, creating uncertainty for Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs).

“This poses a serious threat to continued cocoa buying by LBCs.”

At the grassroots level, Mr Dzah claimed that there is a growing tension between farmers and purchasing clerks, with severe social consequences. “We are witnessing situations where farmers are arresting Purchasing Clerks and throwing them into police cells for failing to pay them for cocoa purchased."

Beyond immediate trade challenges, LICOBAG also criticised successive governments for what it described as a lack of genuine commitment to revamping the cocoa industry. “There is a total lack of commitment to the revamping of the cocoa industry.”

While acknowledging that various administrations have contracted loans in the name of reform, LICOBAG argued that such interventions have largely been cosmetic, failing to address deep-seated structural weaknesses.

“The core structural problems have remained, while policy inconsistencies arising from changes in government continue to make the industry poorer,” Mr Dzah said.

The Association lamented the collapse of cocoa think-tanks and platforms for informed policy dialogue whenever governments change, as well as the alleged misapplication of funds secured for industry reform.

“There is certainly the need for a paradigm shift to realign the industry and restore it to its glorious days, otherwise it risks being swallowed by galamsey,” LICOBAG warned.

The Association called for sustained, non-partisan reforms and a coherent sales strategy anchored in market intelligence, cautioning that without decisive action, Ghana’s cocoa industry faces an uncertain and potentially irreversible decline.