Keypoints:
- Government slashes cocoa price from CFA2,800 to CFA1,200
- Up to 60,000 tonnes of unsold cocoa stuck in warehouses
- Farmers protest losses as global prices fall sharply
COCOA farmers in Cote d’Ivoire are facing mounting financial pressure after a sharp government-imposed price cut triggered a backlog of unsold beans and rising unrest across key producing regions.
In the southeastern town of Aboisso, cocoa beans are repeatedly laid out under the sun to slow spoilage after months in humid storage. The scenes capture a wider disruption in the world’s top cocoa producer, where exports have slowed and cooperative warehouses are overflowing.
The crisis reflects a widening gap between state-set farmgate prices and falling global cocoa prices — a challenge also affecting Ghana and other West African producers.
Why the crisis matters
The cocoa sector accounts for about 14 percent of GDP and supports five million people, making the price collapse a direct threat to rural incomes, export earnings and political stability in Cote d’Ivoire.
Price surge followed by sharp reversal
In October 2025, just ahead of the presidential election that returned President Alassane Ouattara to office, the government raised the official cocoa purchase price to CFA2,800 (about $4.60) per kilogram — a record high.
The increase initially boosted farmer confidence. But by mid-2025, global cocoa prices began to fall as production recovered after years of shortages, leaving Ivorian cocoa priced above international market levels and increasingly difficult to export.
By late 2025, shipments had slowed significantly, and unsold beans began piling up in cooperative warehouses.
Regional contrast: Ghana faces similar pressures
Cote d’Ivoire’s cocoa price crisis is unfolding alongside similar pressures in neighbouring Ghana, the world’s second-largest producer.
Recent reporting shows how the downturn has exposed structural weaknesses across both countries’ state-controlled cocoa systems, with unsold inventories and delayed payments affecting farmers in parallel as outlined in this regional cocoa slump analysis.
In Ghana, authorities have also been forced to adjust producer prices to reflect global conditions following a $4,200 per tonne reset, while President John Mahama has announced reforms to stabilise financing and reduce reliance on external borrowing through a shift towards domestic funding.
While Cote d’Ivoire moved swiftly to cut its farmgate price to CFA1,200 (around $2.00), Ghana has faced additional pressure to maintain competitive pricing to deter cross-border smuggling.
The comparison underscores a broader regional dilemma: how to protect farmer incomes without undermining competitiveness in global markets.
Warehouses fill as quality declines
At the Socoopagos cooperative in the Sud-Comoe region, representing about 2,300 farmers, prolonged storage is already eroding bean quality.
‘We have to expose them to the sun regularly to limit deterioration,’ cooperative president Dongo Yao Kra told AFP. ‘The longer they sit, the more value we lose.’
Some of the stored cocoa was purchased before the price cut, meaning cooperatives must still honour the higher CFA2,800 rate despite worsening market conditions.
Yao Kra estimates his cooperative faces losses of around CFA230 million, describing the situation as financially untenable.
Farmers protest delayed payments
Frustration is growing among farmers, many of whom have yet to be paid for deliveries made months ago.
At a meeting in Songan village, tensions flared as growers criticised the timing of the price cut.
‘It’s like changing the rules in the middle of a match,’ said farmer Antoine Ouattara Sie Kouabou, who is still awaiting payment for more than 800 kilograms of cocoa.
The delays are also affecting labourers, who depend on timely wages during harvest cycles, raising concerns about the next production season.
State response falls short
In January, regulators pledged to absorb excess cocoa through state purchases, but progress has been limited. Socoopagos says only 45 tonnes of its 380-tonne stockpile have been collected.
Nationwide, between 57,000 and 60,000 tonnes remain unsold out of a backlog of roughly 100,000 tonnes.
Farmers and trade groups say a reserve fund meant to stabilise prices has not been effectively deployed.
‘This country is built on agriculture; we deserve to be respected,’ said farmer Dolford Diby, who now relies partly on rubber farming and livestock to cope.
Calls for urgent intervention
With tensions rising, industry leaders are urging authorities to intervene more decisively.
Some are calling for the government or exporters to absorb remaining stock at the previously agreed price to prevent further unrest.
‘Ensuring farmers receive CFA2,800 for existing stock is key to maintaining stability,’ said Obed Blonde Doua of the Coffee-Cocoa Interprofessional Organisation.
Looking ahead, analysts warn that unless global cocoa prices recover or pricing policies become more flexible, the next harvest cycle could deepen the crisis — prolonging stock build-ups and further straining farmer livelihoods across West Africa.
