The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahene Aidoo, has revealed that Ghana lost an alarming 120,000 metric tons of cocoa beans to smuggling between 2022 and 2023.

This significant loss poses a major threat to Ghana’s cocoa industry, a vital sector of the national economy.

The smuggling of cocoa beans, a long-standing issue in Ghana, appears to have worsened in recent years, driven largely by the allure of favourable prices in neighbouring countries.

Speaking at a press conference held in Accra on Monday, October 14, Mr Aidoo expressed deep concern over the growing trend of cocoa smuggling, lamenting that despite concerted efforts by COCOBOD and other governmental agencies, little progress has been made in curbing the illicit trade.

Mr. Aidoo provided a detailed explanation of the situation, noting that an estimated 100,000 to 120,000 metric tons of cocoa were illegally transported out of Ghana during the two years in question.

He highlighted that the problem was especially pronounced in the 2022-2023 period. He explained that the root cause of the surge in smuggling lies in the dynamics of the international cocoa trading system, which has created incentives for smugglers to exploit price differences between Ghana and neighbouring countries.

“About 100 to 120,000 metric tons of cocoa was smuggled out of Ghana, especially in the last two years. Now for last year and this year in particular, this has been so.

“This has been so because the international market trading system is inverted. When you say it is inverted, it means that today, the spot price has become more appreciable.”