Ghana to end raw cocoa exports by 2030
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on 3News
Ghana will end exports of raw cocoa beans by 2030, according to Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson. The country aims to process at least half its cocoa domestically from 2028, before expanding into finished products and cosmetics, 3News reported.
Ghana plans to process at least half of its cocoa production domestically by 2028 and end exports of raw beans by 2030, Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson announced during the presentation of the 2027 budget to Parliament on Thursday.
The plan also covers the processing of beans into liquor, butter, cake, powder, chocolate and cosmetic products, with companies, researchers and Ghanaian brands expected to take part. The government aims to increase the share of value from the cocoa industry retained in the country, according to Cassiel Ato Forson.
Production in the 2025-2026 season had reached 771,000 tonnes by August 2026, while cumulative purchases stood at 690,000 tonnes. The debt of COCOBOD, Ghana’s public cocoa authority, fell from 32.5 billion cedis in March 2025 to 30.55 billion in August 2026, while arrears linked to cocoa roads declined from 21 billion to 6.9 billion cedis following a field verification, according to budget figures.
The average global price of cocoa stood at $4,543.15 per tonne during the first nine months of 2026, down 48.9% year on year, while Ghana earned $3 billion from cocoa exports over the same period, 15.9% more than a year earlier. The budget also forecasts a decline in production in 2027 due to El Niño.
