The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahen Aidoo, is lamenting the negative impact of smuggling of cocoa beans to Ghana’s neighboring countries.
He blames the situation on the current shortfalls witnessed in the just ended cocoa crop season.
Appearing before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, Mr. Boahen Aidoo disclosed that COCOBOD lost over 150,000 metric tonnes of cocoa beans to smuggling in 2023.
He assured that COCOBOD is collaborating with national security and other stakeholders, as well as farmers to address the challenges.
“We normally use the proceeds from the cocoa to pay for the free fertilizer and the free seedlings we distribute to farmers. If after production the cocoa is smuggled to our neighboring countries then we lose as a nation”.
He explained that the system is designed to keep COCOBOD profitable only through payment of its loans with cocoa beans.
“If we cannot redeem the cost, and at the end of the day the cocoa go to Togo and Ivory Coast. The fertilisers and the agro-chemicals that we give to the farmers are acquired on credit. So if the beans is smuggled, then it creates a problem” he stressed.
Mr. Boahen Aidoo appealed to the security agencies at the borders to help COCOBOD nib the problem, in the bud.
He stated for instance that cocoa beans smugglers must be severely punished to serve as a deterrent to others engaging in the illegal act. He also pointed out that illegal mining
source: myjoyonline