A number of banks stepped in to help the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) with its annual pre-export funding after traditional lenders refused to cover the risk amid the global crisis, Reuters reported.
“The loan will support his 2020/2021 cocoa harvest and is expected to be raised by a club of around 12 or 13 banks, offering notes of around $ 75 million, although the actual size has not yet been decided, have indicated the sources.. “
According to Bloomberg, commodities analysts said Cocobod owed foreign buyers and buying companies about 1.2 billion yen ($ 208 million).
Ghana, the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, suffered a potential loss of $ 1 billion after prices fell from a peak in February, the cocoa regulator said in a statement in April.
Bad weather
Plant diseases and inclement weather also affected production, made worse by above-average rainfall in the region this week.
Cocobod raises $ 1 billion a year for its annual pre-export financing underwritten by around four to six banks, before being syndicated to a larger banking group.
“Banks are unwilling to take the underwriting risk. This will be a club loan with a group of around 12 or 13 banks, with a few banks acting as coordinators. It will be Cocobod’s first club-style deal since the financial crisisA banker told Reuters.
“I am confident that we will pay all overdue debts owed to authorized purchasing companies in the coming weeks.Ghana Cocoa Board spokesperson Fiifi Boafo told Ghanaweb.
