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Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s top cocoa producer, has increased the price it pays to farmers, overtaking neighboring Ghana. Despite the hike, both countries’ growers continue to receive prices below the global market rate.
Agriculture Minister Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani announced that the Ivorian government has raised the farmgate price by 20%, setting it at 1,800 CFA francs ($3.06) per kilogram, or $3,060 per tonne, for the harvest starting October 1. This new price slightly exceeds the $3,039 per tonne that Ghana, the second-largest producer, has been paying its farmers since the beginning of its cocoa season.
This price increase is expected to reduce the smuggling of Ivorian cocoa to Ghana. However, it may not fully curb illegal exports to other neighboring countries like Liberia and Guinea, where buyers offer prices closer to the global market rate.
Last season, adverse weather, disease, and insufficient farming inputs led to reduced cocoa output across West Africa, pushing cocoa futures to record highs of over $11,000 per tonne earlier this year. Currently, futures have declined, trading at around $7,700 per tonne.
Despite the global price surge, farmers in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana have not fully benefited due to government-imposed pricing systems. This has hindered investment in cocoa farms and contributed to widespread smuggling. Côte d’Ivoire reportedly lost an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 tonnes of cocoa to smuggling in the past crop year.
In response to these challenges, Côte d’Ivoire plans to harmonize its output control, pricing, and marketing system with Ghana starting in the 2024-25 season as part of a strategic cooperation between the two countries.
