Ghana Cocoa Regulator Clears 2026 Debt Restructuring Payments

Ghana's state cocoa regulator, COCOBOD, has settled 2.3 billion Ghanaian cedi ($204.44 million) owed to holders of bonds affected by the government's 2023 Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP). The payment, announced on Monday, clears all obligations due this year from the restructuring, though further payments are scheduled for the next two years.

The DDEP was launched in 2023 as part of Ghana's debt restructuring under an IMF-backed programme, following a sovereign debt crisis that shut the country out of international capital markets. The programme involved swapping local government securities, including bonds and COCOBOD bills used to finance annual bean purchases from farmers, into new, longer-maturity instruments with lower coupon payments.

The restructuring shut COCOBOD out of the syndicated loan market it had relied on for over three decades to fund crop purchases, and deferred cocoa bond repayments in line with other domestic bonds under the DDEP. The board said it has now paid DDEP bondholders a total of 2.68 billion cedi in 2026, including a coupon payment of 376.3 million cedi in March.

A separate settlement of 162 million cedi ($14.40 million) was made in July with individual holders of Cocoa Bills who had opted out of the DDEP. COCOBOD is working to stabilise finances strained by the DDEP, farmer payment arrears, and liquidity pressure across licensed buying companies.

The board has said it plans to float 270-day commercial bonds to help finance cocoa purchases for the next five years and to help service its outstanding DDEP-related debt.