News in Brief:
– Ivory Coast, the world’s leading cocoa exporter, is raising the farmgate price paid to farmers by 50% to address global price hikes and support livelihoods.
– This decision follows pressure from farmers and aims to close the gap between global cocoa prices and what farmers earn.
In a move to address cocoa bean price hikes and support farmers, Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa exporter, is increasing the official farmgate price to 1,500 CFA francs ($2.47) per kilogram. This represents a 50% increase from the previous price of 1,000 CFA francs.
The decision comes after pressure from farmers and a global cocoa market facing a deficit due to disease and unfavourable weather conditions.
Meantime, while major cocoa buyers like Hershey, Nestle, Mondelez, and Barry Callebaut benefit from these high prices, Ivorian cocoa farmers haven’t seen a corresponding increase in their earnings until now. This price disparity has been a point of contention, leading Ivory Coast and Ghana to boycott industry meetings in 2022.
Recall that in October 2022, Ghana and Ivory Coast, boycotted meetings in Brussels held by the World Cocoa Foundation on cocoa sustainability. These West African nations accused multinational chocolate companies and traders of obstructing efforts to improve cocoa farmers’ incomes.
Despite accounting for roughly two-thirds of global cocoa production, Ghana and Ivory Coast’s farmers received less than 6% of the profits in a chocolate industry exceeding $100 billion annually.
The hike in the farmgate price aims to improve the livelihoods of millions of Ivorians who depend on the cocoa industry for their income.
