Senior executives at the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) have taken voluntary salary cuts in a stark sign of financial strain within Ghana’s cocoa sector. In an official statement released on Monday, February 16, 2026, the Board announced that Executive Management will take a 20 percent reduction in pay, while Senior Staff will accept a 10 percent cut for the remainder of the 2025/26 crop year.

The statement, signed by the Chief Executive and circulated to media houses, described the move as a response to “current liquidity challenges” confronting the industry.

“This decision and other cost-cutting measures in procurement and a staff rationalisation exercise are aimed at reducing the overall expenditure of COCOBOD and aligning cost with revenue,” the release stated.

The pay cuts come amid heightened turbulence in Ghana’s cocoa sector, with growing debate over producer pricing, farm-level profitability and the regulator’s rising operational costs.

Analysts have repeatedly flagged the financial strain created by the heavy upfront financing required for annual cocoa purchases, coupled with exposure to volatile global commodity prices.

The salary reductions also follow the government’s recent decision to lower the producer price of cocoa for the remainder of the 2025/2026 crop season.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Thursday, February 12, 2026, Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson announced a downward adjustment in producer prices, citing falling international market prices and mounting liquidity pressures.

The producer price has been reduced to GH¢41,392 per tonne and GH¢2,587 per 64-kilogramme bag.

At the start of the 2025/2026 season in August 2025, the price had been set at GH¢51,660 per tonne, calculated at 70 percent of a gross free-on-board price of 7,200 US dollars per tonne, using an exchange rate of 10.25 cedis to the dollar.

The new rate represents a reduction of GH¢16,608 per tonne and GH¢1,038 per bag from the October 2025 rate of GH¢58,000 per tonne and GH¢3,625 per bag.

COCOBOD indicated that the voluntary salary cuts form part of a broader austerity programme, including procurement controls and staff rationalisation, designed to stabilise its finances.

While management has framed the decision as a necessary step to protect the long-term sustainability of the cocoa sector, the development underscores the depth of the liquidity squeeze affecting one of Ghana’s most critical export industries.