The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has revealed that in June and July, its anti-cocoa smuggling taskforce made significant strides in cracking down on the activities of syndicates involved in cocoa smuggling.

The two months saw the seizure of some 216 bags of cocoa beans that were being smuggled across the border to Togo.

This was possible due to four separate operations at Zebila and Bolga in the Upper East Region.

The most recent activity led by the taskforce was on Saturday, July 5. The taskforce intercepted 15 bags of cocoa beans at Maame Wata in the Asuogyaman District of the Eastern Region, also bound for Togo.

Several suspects have been arrested and are currently assisting police with investigations.

Last year, Reuters reported that Ghana lost about 160,000 tonnes of cocoa to smuggling during the 2023/2024 crop season.

Presently, COCOBOD is working with Parliament to strengthen laws on cocoa smuggling. This is to introduce harsher sanctions to deter many from engaging in such unlawful acts.

The Bank of Ghana’s Summary of Macroeconomic and Financial Data for March 2025 revealed that cocoa exports soared by 126 per cent.

Meanwhile, COCOBOD has urged Ghanaians to support its efforts to stop cocoa smuggling and help safeguard the vital national resource.

"Report suspicious persons to the nearest police station or the Ghana Cocoa Board. Together, we can protect the livelihood of our hardworking farmers and sustain Ghana’s cocoa legacy," the Board noted in a post on Facebook.

Presently, COCOBOD is grappling with a staggering debt of GH¢32.5 billion, with GH¢9.7 billion due by the end of September, President John Dramani Mahama has revealed.

Delivering the 2025 State of the Nation Address in Parliament, he painted a bleak picture of the cocoa sector’s finances, warning of massive revenue losses for both COCOBOD and Ghanaian farmers.

According to Mahama, COCOBOD’s financial woes deepened in the 2023/24 crop season when it failed to supply 333,767 metric tonnes of cocoa that had been pre-sold at $2,600 per tonne.