ACCRA, Sept 1 – The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has settled 2.3 billion Ghanaian cedi ($204.44 million) owed to holders of securities affected by the country’s Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, marking the completion of its scheduled DDEP-related payments for 2026.
The state cocoa regulator said on Monday that it had paid DDEP bondholders a total of 2.68 billion cedi this year. The amount includes a 376.3 million cedi coupon payment made in March, bringing the regulator’s total payments under the restructuring to date for 2026.
The latest settlement clears all COCOBOD obligations due this year under the DDEP, although payments remain outstanding over the following two years.
Ghana launched the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme in 2023 as part of a broader restructuring of public finances under an International Monetary Fund-supported economic programme. The initiative followed a sovereign debt crisis that restricted the government’s access to international capital markets.
Under the DDEP, domestic government securities, including certain COCOBOD bills used to finance cocoa purchases from farmers, were exchanged for new instruments with longer maturities and lower coupon payments.
The restructuring also had a significant impact on COCOBOD’s financing model. The cocoa regulator was effectively shut out of the syndicated loan market that it had used for more than 30 years to finance annual cocoa purchases, while repayments on its cocoa-related bonds were deferred alongside other domestic debt obligations.
COCOBOD has since been working to restore financial stability amid the combined pressures of debt restructuring, outstanding payments to cocoa farmers and liquidity constraints affecting licensed cocoa-buying companies.
The regulator also made a separate payment of 162 million cedi ($14.40 million) in July to individual holders of Cocoa Bills who had chosen not to participate in the DDEP.
The payments form part of efforts by COCOBOD to manage its post-restructuring obligations while maintaining financing capacity for the cocoa sector. The regulator remains reliant on access to funding to purchase cocoa beans from farmers during each crop season, making the sustainability of its balance sheet an important factor for Ghana’s agricultural economy.
To support future financing needs, COCOBOD has said it plans to issue 270-day commercial bonds over the next five years. The proposed instruments are intended to help finance cocoa purchases while also supporting the servicing of outstanding obligations linked to the DDEP.
The latest payment provides some progress in reducing COCOBOD’s near-term restructuring obligations, but the regulator continues to face the longer-term challenge of rebuilding a sustainable financing structure for Ghana’s cocoa industry.
