ACCRA (Reuters) – Ghana expects cocoa output of around 900,000 tonnes in the 2020/2021 season, up 5.8% from the forecast for 2019/2020, the country’s Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) said, according to a parliamentary report published on Wednesday.

Ghana is the world’s second-biggest cocoa producer. Its growing season runs from October to September.

The report also said the COCOBOD planned to raise $1.3 billion in syndicated loans to fund cocoa purchases during 2020/21 from a consortium of banks and financial institutions, with the government as guarantor.

The loan will carry annual interest of one month Libor plus 1.75%, a commitment fee of 0.62% per year and an upfront flat fee of 1.25%.