The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has temporarily suspended access to the Ghana Cocoa Traceability System (GCTS), the digital platform that processes all official cocoa transactions nationwide, just hours before an anticipated policy announcement from the Ministry of Finance on producer prices.

The system was reportedly locked at about 8:00 a.m. on Thursday morning, effectively halting grading, sealing, and evacuation of cocoa beans across the country.

The GCTS serves as the operational backbone of Ghana’s cocoa value chain, enabling Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) to officially process purchased cocoa.

Without access to the platform, cocoa cannot be graded or sealed, a prerequisite for pricing and onward movement within the supply chain.

Industry players say the shutdown has frozen activities at various depots.

As a result:

LBCs are unable to grade and seal cocoa already in storage,

Cocoa delivered by farmers cannot be processed,

Transactions across the value chain have stalled.

The development comes ahead of a scheduled 11:00 a.m. announcement by the Finance Minister, who is widely expected to outline reforms in the cocoa sector, including a possible review — and potential reduction — of the cocoa producer price.

The timing of the system suspension has sparked concern among farmer advocacy groups and sector stakeholders.

Coordinator of the Forum for Accountability and Development of Sefwi (FADOS), Addo Yaw Harry, questioned the rationale behind the move, suggesting it could disadvantage farmers who supplied cocoa under the current pricing regime.

“If farmers have already delivered their produce at the existing price, preventing grading and sealing until after a new price announcement raises serious questions about fairness,” he said.

According to him, if the platform remains inaccessible until after a lower producer price is announced, cocoa already sitting in depots could be processed under the new rate, potentially reducing earnings for farmers.

Stakeholders warn that such a situation could:

Undermine trust between farmers and buying companies,

Create uncertainty within the cocoa value chain,

Heighten suspicions about the transparency of pricing decisions.

“This action sends the wrong signal at a time when farmers are already facing economic pressures,” Mr. Harry added.