The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has slashed salaries for its top managers and senior staff and rolled out broader cost-cutting measures as liquidity pressures intensify across Ghana’s cocoa sector.
In a statement dated 16 February the board said the reductions take immediate effect and will last through the remainder of the 2025/2026 crop year.
Executive management will absorb a 20% pay cut, while senior staff will take a 10% reduction.
Additional steps
COCOBOD said the measures are part of a wider effort to align spending with revenue amid rising operational costs and financing constraints.
Additional steps include procurement reforms and a staff rationalisation exercise, it added.
The move comes as the sector faces heightened scrutiny over cocoa pricing, farmer welfare and the sustainability of cocoa farming, alongside exposure to volatile global prices and the heavy financing burden of annual cocoa purchases.
Shared sacrifice
COCOBOD’s leadership framed the pay cuts as a demonstration of shared sacrifice while the institution undertakes restructuring during the crop season.
The statement did not quantify the size of the liquidity gap or estimate savings from the salary reductions.
Industry analysts say the board’s finances have been squeezed by higher input costs, debt servicing and tighter credit conditions, compounding pressure on an industry that underpins Ghana’s export earnings.
COCOBOD is led by Chief Executive Dr Randy Abbey.
