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Ivory Coast considers following Ghana with cocoa price cut: Report
Ivory Coast plans to cut its cocoa farm-gate price to match Ghana’s 28.6% reduction after global prices fell nearly 50%, aiming to curb smuggling and stabilize the sector.
- ABIDJAN, Feb 18- Ivory Coast is considering cutting its guaranteed farm gate price to align with Ghana's 28.6% reduction, two government sources told Reuters as an inter-ministerial committee has met and a formal announcement could come soon.
- The price slump, which has seen cocoa fall nearly 50% in recent months, follows a collapse in global cocoa futures and close coordination by the Ivory Coast‑Ghana Cocoa Initiative, representing about 60% of output.
- Warehouses in Ivory Coast are reportedly filling with unsold beans while buyers increasingly offer amounts below the official guaranteed price, and an estimated 160,000 tonnes of Ghana's cocoa were illegally exported due to price disparities.
- If Abidjan confirms a matching cut, the economic logic for smuggling would collapse and stabilise official cocoa arrivals in Ghana, benefiting COCOBOD and reducing risks for traders and farming communities in border zones.
- Lower global prices narrow foreign‑exchange inflows and could force borrowing or spending cuts if domestic commitments hold; Ivory Coast absorbed part of the downturn while Ghana passed the full correction, creating a temporary pricing gap, Alex Assanvo, ICCIG Executive Secretary, said.
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6 Articles
Exclusive: Ivory Coast considers following Ghana with cocoa price cut, sources say
Ivory Coast is considering cutting the price it pays farmers for cocoa beans to align with Ghana, two government sources told Reuters, as the world's biggest producers of the chocolate ingredient face a major crisis.
The cocoa sector, an economic pillar of the African giants, namely Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, is undergoing a massive crisis that calls into question years of tariff frameworks and support mechanisms for producers. After historical price levels in 2024, the sharp fall in world prices plunged markets into uncertainty, forcing them to...
Ivory Coast May Cut Cocoa Price to Match Ghana, Neutralising Smuggling Risk
The farmgate price gap that opened between Ghana and Ivory Coast after Ghana slashed its producer price by 28.6 percent earlier this season may be short-lived, with Abidjan now considering a parallel cut that would close the arbitrage window and remove the economic incentive that has historically driven cross-border cocoa…
The crisis in the cocoa sector in West Africa is taking a new turn. Ghana, the world's second largest producer of beans behind Côte d'Ivoire, has decided to reduce the price paid to producers by 30 per cent. A radical step taken in the context of severe turbulence on the international market, which could have a direct impact on the Ivorian economy.
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