COCOBOD Dismisses ‘Bloomberg’s Inaccurate Report’

THE Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and its subsidiary the Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC) Limited have clarified that Ghana has not failed to secure a buyer for its 2020/21 cocoa beans.

There were media reports over the weekend that Ghana had failed to secure a buyer for its cocoa beans after lifting the ban on the sale of cocoa to the international market.

But in a statement signed by its Chief Executive, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, COCOBOD entreated all to disregard the news about Ghana’s beans not finding a buyer which seems to fall in line with a certain negative narrative of a challenge in the implementation of well-understood trading mechanism.

Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire last week lifted the suspension of the sale of 2020/21 cocoa beans after officially announcing the new trading mechanism for the sale of cocoa.

In line with trading practice, according to the statement, CMC on 19th June 2019, decided to do a market sounding after the introduction of a Living Income Differential (LID) and weigh the market reaction and its dynamics.

“We will like to correct the misrepresentation of the LID to mean a surcharge. The LID is part of the price component of the trading mechanism and not a surcharge as was reported by the Bloomberg,” the statement indicated.

“The Management of Ghana Cocoa Board and its subsidiary Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC) Limited have observed with worry the inaccurate interpretation and publication by Bloomberg and other media house on the sale of Ghana’s beans,” it said.