Ivory Coast cocoa producers suffer amid global price fall
## Cocoa Production and Pricing Challenges in Ivory Coast
Cocoa Production and Pricing Challenges in Ivory Coast
Cocoa beans are currently drying in the sun in Aboisso town square, southeastern Ivory Coast, before returning to warehouses where they have been stored under damp conditions. This situation highlights the ongoing crisis in the world's leading cocoa-producing country.
In Ivory Coast, the purchase price for cocoa paid to growers is state-regulated. As of early October, prior to the presidential election, the price reached 2,800 CFA francs per kilogram, marking a historic high. However, by summer 2025, global cocoa prices decreased significantly due to increased production following years of shortages, rendering the Ivorian purchase price unsustainable.
As a result, exports have slowed, cocoa stocks have accumulated in agricultural cooperative warehouses, and numerous growers remain unpaid. In early March, the Ivorian government reduced the purchase price to 1,200 CFA francs to address the sector's crisis, which contributes 14% to GDP and supports five million individuals.
Despite this price adjustment, cocoa beans in Aboisso warehouses continue to deteriorate due to tropical humidity exposure. According to Dongo Yao Kra, president of the Socoopagos cooperative, efforts are made to limit damage by periodically sun-drying the beans. Nonetheless, the quality of the stock, some of which was harvested before the price cut, is declining.
Cocoa beans are currently drying in the sun in Aboisso town square, southeastern Ivory Coast, before returning to warehouses where they have been stored under damp conditions.
The cooperative faces financial challenges, having to honor the pre-existing price of 2,800 CFA francs per kilogram, resulting in an unmanageable cost of 230 million CFA francs.
A recent crisis meeting in Songan included approximately 50 cocoa growers discussing the impact of the price cut. Concerns were raised about the timing of the price reduction and its implications on growers' livelihoods.
The Coffee Cocoa Council had previously committed to purchasing unsold beans but has only acquired 45 out of 380 stored tonnes. Growers express dissatisfaction over unmet government promises to stabilize prices using a reserve fund.
Obed Blonde Doua, vice president of the Coffee-Cocoa Interprofessional Organisation, reported that between 57,000 and 60,000 tonnes of cocoa remain unclaimed from a 100,000-tonne backlog. Efforts are ongoing to ensure producers can receive the original price of 2,800 CFA francs for the remaining stock to maintain social stability.
Based on reporting by Africanews.
