Parliament has passed the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) Bill, 2026, introducing major reforms to Ghana’s cocoa sector, including a legal guarantee that cocoa farmers receive not less than 70 per cent of the Free on Board (FOB) export price,.
The Bill, passed on Thursday, July 30, establishes COCOBOD as the statutory body responsible for regulating, overseeing and monitoring activities across the cocoa value chain.
Presenting the objectives of the Bill on the floor of Parliament, Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem said the legislation mandates COCOBOD to support cocoa cultivation, undertake the buying, selling and export of cocoa, and promote value addition within the sector.
He said the Bill also provides a clear legal framework for the Producer Price Review Committee and its technical structures, strengthening the process for determining producer prices.
According to the Deputy Minister, the legislation introduces a new funding model that will allow COCOBOD to source financing locally to purchase cocoa beans from farmers while ensuring local processing companies have improved access to the commodity. He added that the Bill also seeks to protect cocoa farms and the environment.
The legislation further gives statutory backing to key regulatory functions that have largely been enforced through administrative guidelines. These include disinfestation procedures, quality inspections, service charges, cocoa take-over processes and certification requirements, strengthening compliance and enforcement across the sector.
The Bill also resolves governance and oversight inconsistencies by formally placing COCOBOD under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance, giving legal effect to the government’s March 2025 policy directive transferring oversight from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
It further seeks to promote public-private partnerships and increase local value addition by encouraging collaboration with domestic and international partners, including the European Union, the World Cocoa Foundation and the Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative.
The legislation also introduces regulatory flexibility for small-scale chocolatiers and cocoa by-products manufacturers, addressing operational challenges that have limited domestic cocoa processing and innovation.
