Ghana cocoa regulator will not raise a syndicated loan for the 2024/25 season, CEO says
Recasts with Cocobod not raising a syndicated loan in paragraphs 1-2, adds quotes in 3 and 6, and context in 4-5
By Maxwell Akalaare Adombila and Christian Akorlie
ACCRA, Aug 20 (Reuters) -Ghana's cocoa regulator Cocobod will not raise a syndicated loan for its 2024/25 cocoa season for the first time in over three decades, Chief Executive Joseph Boahen Aidoo said on Tuesday.
He added that the season would open on Sept. 1, earlier than usual, with a reduced target of 650,000 tonnes.
"We are not taking funds from cocoa traders," Aidoo told reporters at a press conference. "The money will come locally. We are going to be self-financing."
Ghana has financed bean purchases from farmers with an annual syndicated loan since the 1992/93 season.
Cocobod paid a record 8% interest on its loan last year. Aidoo said self-financing would save the regulator $150 million in interest to lenders.
"Worse case (scenario), we will do a cocktail of self-financing and domestic financing," he said.
Aidoo attributed the 2024/25 target, reduced by around 20% from an earlier prediction of 810,000 tonnes, to lack of rain.
Ghana, the world's second cocoa producer behind Ivory Coast, witnessed one of its poorest harvests in a decade in the 2023/2024 season, attributed to harsh weather conditions resulting from El Nino, rampant smuggling and swollen shoot disease.
The opening of the cocoa season, when farmers are authorised to start selling their cocoa beans at a price set by the regulator, is usually in October.
Last year, the government brought forward the start of the new season after increased smuggling of beans to Ivory Coast and Togo contributed to a lower than expected total output.
Ghanaian cocoa farmers said they expect a boost in the 2024/2025 season thanks to improved weather and some farms rehabilitated after diseases and illegal gold mining.
Reporting by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila and Christian Akorlie;
Writing by Anait Miridzhanian and Sofia Christensen; Editing by Susan Fenton and Sandra Maler
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