Cocoa Smuggling Costs Ghana Over $1 Billion in Three Years – COCOBOD
COCOBOD flags corruption and weak border controls as key drivers of massive cocoa revenue losses
- Over 7,100 tonnes of cocoa lost to smuggling from 2020–2025 in Volta and Oti region
- Ghana loses approximately US$1.1 billion between 2022–2025 due to smuggling
- Compromised border security and local transit routes are major enablers
Ghana has reportedly lost more than 7,100 tonnes of cocoa to smuggling over the past three years, resulting in over US$1 billion in revenue losses, the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has revealed.
Speaking during a working visit to the Volta and Oti regions, Jake Kudjo Samahar, COCOBOD’s Director of Special Services, highlighted the sharp decline in cocoa production in these areas over recent crop years.
“The tonnage recorded for the 2020/21 crop year was 7,215.19 tonnes, which fell to 5,656.25 in 2021/22, dropped further to 874.31 in 2022/23, then 468.75 in 2023/24, and finally 87.06 tonnes in 2024/25,” Samahar explained.
The losses, he said, were largely due to cocoa being smuggled into neighbouring Togo and Côte d’Ivoire.
“We are losing a lot of revenue. Between 2022 and 2025 alone, Ghana has lost nearly $1.1 billion through cocoa smuggling,” he added.
COCOBOD identified security personnel as major actors in the smuggling trade, with compromised checkpoints along border communities facilitating both local and transit smuggling routes.
Samahar elaborated: “In Volta and Oti, we have two categories of smuggling. Local smuggling involves cocoa being moved directly from farms into Togo. Transit smuggling involves beans from other regions moving through the eastern corridor into Togo. Unfortunately, some security services have not been manning their checkpoints or have compromised themselves.”
The disclosure underscores the urgent need for stricter enforcement and oversight to protect Ghana’s cocoa industry and its critical revenue streams.
