Cocobod admits duty of AML; undertakes to settle its debt in 7 days

Ghana Cococbod has admitted to delaying payment to some Authorized Buying Companies (LBCs), a development that has created anxiety in the cocoa industry.

Buem MP Kofi Adams on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday revealed that LBCs in the cocoa sector are transporting cocoa from farmers without paying.

He indicated that Cocobod’s inability to pay LBCs has also affected the livelihoods of cocoa farmers as LBCs are unable to pay cocoa farmers.

But in an interview with Joy FM on Thursday, Cocobod deputy general manager Dr Emmanuel Opoku said it wasn’t intentional on the part of his outfit.

According to him, the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly affected the patronage of cocoa beans in the global market.

“Two years ago, we [Cocobod] got $ 1.3 billion to buy cocoa and we were able to buy about 770,000 tonnes of cocoa. But it was not the same in 2020 because of Covid-19. We all know that Kotoka International Airport has been closed and many other airports around the world have also been closed.

“And we know that cocoa is consumed mainly through chocolate. But around the world, when processors realized they weren’t making sales, it affected global cocoa markets; prices have fallen, buyers have stopped buying cocoa beans because they don’t sell chocolate and other cocoa products, ”he said.

Commenting on the syndication loan, the deputy CEO said Cocobod could not secure enough contracts in 2020 to facilitate the withdrawal of funds from the facility.

“If you go to the market, nobody buys cocoa and you can only take samples if you have a contract to guarantee the repayment.

“So due to the Covid-19 challenge, we have decided to maintain the $ 1.3 billion that the loan will take. We realized that if we go for $ 1.8 billion we will have a hard time selling cocoa to raise enough collateral to pull down and even with the $ 1.3 billion we still have problems with it. accounting, ”he said.

However, he revealed that Cocobod is liaising with the government and the Bank of Ghana to raise additional funds to settle its debts as soon as possible.

“In the next week, we will have the money to pay for the AMLs that we still owe. This is something that the entire Ghanaian community must understand, because we all know that Covid-19 has affected all economic activities in the world, ”he pleaded.

Meanwhile, Cocobod officials are due to appear before Parliament to brief lawmakers on measures being taken to address the issue.