Ghana’s cocoa sector is facing a severe financial downturn, with export revenues for 2024 officially falling to $1.73 billion. This marks the first time since 2010 that earnings have dipped below the critical $2 billion threshold, representing a 25.4% decline in just one year.
Despite global cocoa prices surging by over 150% in 2024, Ghana was unable to capitalize on the boom due to a historic collapse in production volumes.
Data from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Auditor-General’s reports confirm the gravity of the shortfall. By August 2024, cumulative earnings reached only $917.8 million, the lowest for that period in six years. While higher global prices slightly cushioned the blow – actual total revenue reached $1.73 billion against an initial BoG projection of $1 billion – the underlying production metrics tell a more troubling story.
The mismatch between record-high global prices and record-low national earnings is primarily due to forward sales agreements. Ghana sells a large portion of its crop months in advance at fixed prices; consequently, when the market price spiked to nearly $10,000 per tonne, COCOBOD was already committed to delivering beans at much lower pre-boom rates.
| Metric | 2023 Performance | 2024 Performance | % Change |
| Cocoa Bean Export Volume | 533,057 Tons | 261,248 Tons | -51% |
| Processed Cocoa Products | 240,897 Tons | 192,429 Tons | -20% |
| Total Export Revenue | $2.12 Billion | $1.73 Billion | -18% (approx.) |
| Syndicated Loan Inflow | $681 Million | $50 Million8 | -92% |
The Structural “Triple Threat”
The sharp production drop – from over 1 million metric tonnes in 2021 to roughly 430,000–530,000 tonnes in the 2023/24 season – is attributed to three major factors:
- Galamsey (Illegal Mining): Thousands of hectares of fertile cocoa land have been destroyed or contaminated by small-scale gold mining.
- Swollen Shoot Disease: Over 500,000 hectares of cocoa trees are currently unproductive or infected with the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus (CSSVD).
- Smuggling: Higher farmgate prices in Togo and Ivory Coast, combined with the depreciation of the Cedi, led to an estimated loss of 160,000 tonnes to cross-border smuggling.
