President John Mahama has announced sweeping reforms to end foreign financing of Ghana’s cocoa purchases and stop the export of raw mineral ores by 2030, in a move aimed at strengthening economic sovereignty and accelerating domestic value addition.
According to a statement from the Presidency, the announcement was made at the closing of the President’s high-level side event, “Accra Reset’s Addis Reckoning,” held on the sidelines of the 39th Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa.
President Mahama said Ghana would transition away from foreign-funded cocoa purchasing arrangements, which have historically required the country to use its cocoa beans as collateral for offshore financing.
One of the key decisions we’ve made is to stop accepting foreign funding for the purchase of our cocoa. We will raise domestic bonds. We have enough Cedis in Ghana to pay for our cocoa,” he said.
He explained that under the current system, cocoa beans are pledged as collateral to foreign financiers, limiting Ghana’s ability to allocate beans for domestic processing and forcing exports in raw form.
You collateralise the beans with the financier, buy them, ship them, and they pay you the international market price,” he noted, adding that the arrangement constrains the growth of local processing despite the country’s capacity to process up to 400,000 tonnes annually.
Under the new policy, Ghana will raise bonds denominated in cedis to finance cocoa purchases locally, eliminating the need for foreign collateral arrangements. The shift is expected to free up significant volumes of cocoa for domestic processing, create jobs and retain more value within the economy.
President Mahama said recent volatility in global cocoa prices and exchange rate movements had exposed structural vulnerabilities in the sector. He cited a scenario where cocoa prices fell from $7,200 to $4,200 per tonne while exchange rate shifts compounded financial losses under existing arrangements.
Beyond cocoa, the President announced a firm commitment to end the export of unprocessed mineral resources by the end of the decade.
By 2030, there won’t be any raw mineral ores leaving Ghana. You’re not going to ship raw manganese ore, raw bauxite ore or raw iron ore out of Ghana. You must process all that locally,” he declared.
He said the reforms form part of the broader “Accra Reset” agenda, which seeks to restructure Africa’s economic model by prioritising industrialisation, local value addition and resource sovereignty.
President Mahama emphasised that accelerating domestic processing and industrial growth is essential to creating jobs and meeting the expectations of Africa’s growing youth population, while reducing migration driven by economic hardship.
He also called for urgency in implementing reforms, urging African countries willing to move forward to act decisively.
We come with the decisions. We agree. We do the frameworks. What is missing is urgency and implementation,” he said. “From Addis, we must stop talking and start implementing.”
The reforms signal Ghana’s intention to lead efforts to strengthen domestic control over strategic resources and expand industrial capacity as part of a broader push for sustainable economic transformation.
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