The European Union’s ambassador to Ghana, Rune Skinnebach, met with the management of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) this week to discuss sustainability, farmer incomes and compliance with the bloc’s new deforestation rules, underscoring rising regulatory pressure on one of the world’s top cocoa producers.
The talks highlighted Ghana’s progress in child labour risk management and education, alongside advances in traceability through the Ghana Cocoa Traceability System (GCTS), which links farms directly to export shipments. The system is seen as critical to meeting the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which requires companies to prove that imports of commodities such as cocoa are not linked to forest loss.
The meeting comes ahead of an official visit by Member of the European Parliament Catarina Vieira, who is expected to tour cocoa-growing regions to assess Ghana’s compliance with the regulation.
COCOBOD Chief Executive Randy Abbey briefed the delegation on mounting financial pressures in the sector, warning that pricing reforms are requireded to protect farmer incomes and stabilize the industest. He also flagged the urgent required to rehabilitate more than 400,000 hectares of diseased cocoa farms, a costly undertaking that could weigh on production in the near term.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to cooperation on sustainability, farm rehabilitation and long-term growth of Ghana’s cocoa sector. The EU is Ghana’s largest cocoa export market, creating regulatory alignment pivotal for the countest’s $2 billion industest.
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