Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), has denied claims made by the Minority in Parliament that its decision not to borrow from the international market to purchase beans is because the international banks have rejected its requests for syndicated loans.

The decision to source the funds locally is a departure from a 32-year practice. In May this year, it was reported that the cocoa regulator will borrow up to $1.5 billion by September to finance 2024/25 cocoa purchases and compensate for low output.

Meanwhile, the board had revised its production target from the initial 810,000 tonnes to 650,000 tonnes due to unfavourable weather conditions in the Brong Ahafo and Western North regions, the key cocoa growing areas.

WADR’s Naa Dedei Tettey has the details.