Keypoints:
- Cocoa farmers block roads
- Officials head to protest zones
- Harvest concerns deepen
COTE d’Ivoire is dispatching officials to cocoa-growing regions after protests over unpaid cocoa sales and rotting bean stocks triggered clashes between farmers and police, raising concerns over stability in the world’s largest cocoa producer.
Reuters reported that the Coffee and Cocoa Council, known as the CCC, will send senior managers to the town of M’Batto after demonstrations escalated last week. Farmers blocked roads and accused buyers and cooperatives of failing to pay for cocoa sold during the main crop season.
The unrest matters beyond Cote d’Ivoire because the country accounts for roughly 40 percent of global cocoa production and earns more than $6bn annually from cocoa exports. Any prolonged disruption could affect farmer confidence, future harvests and international chocolate supply chains already strained by recent price volatility.
Police clashes intensify cocoa anger
Tensions rose in M’Batto after police used tear gas to disperse protesting farmers demanding payment for cocoa beans they said had already been sold.
According to Reuters, farmers said cocoa stocks remained stuck in warehouses despite earlier assurances from authorities that unsold beans would be collected and processed through the marketing system.
The dispute emerged after a sharp decline in global cocoa prices created tension between the government’s fixed farmgate pricing structure and falling international market rates.
Cote d’Ivoire and neighbouring Ghana both operate regulated cocoa pricing systems designed to shield farmers from severe market volatility. However, analysts have increasingly warned that sharp price swings can place pressure on cooperatives, exporters and state-backed buying systems.
Cote d’Ivoire and neighbouring Ghana both operate regulated cocoa pricing systems designed to shield farmers from severe market volatility. However, analysts have increasingly warned that sharp price swings can place pressure on cooperatives, exporters and state-backed buying systems. Earlier this year, falling cocoa prices exposed mounting pressure on Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire’s state-controlled cocoa systems as lower prices and financing constraints disrupted trade flows.
Farmers warn beans are rotting
Farmers and cooperative leaders told Reuters that thousands of tons of cocoa remain unsold in producing regions, with some warning that bean quality is deteriorating as storage delays continue.
A cooperative official in Daloa said more than 150 metric tons of cocoa belonging to over 300 farmers had still not been sold weeks after the end of the main crop season.
Several farmers said the delays had left them struggling to cover household costs, maintain plantations and prepare for the next harvest cycle.
The Ivorian Platform for Sustainable Cocoa, a farmer advocacy organisation, confirmed that unsold stocks remain in some regions, although it did not provide precise figures.
The situation also comes as West African cocoa exporters face increasing pressure linked to sustainability and traceability requirements under new European regulations. The situation also comes as West African cocoa exporters face increasing pressure linked to sustainability and traceability requirements under new European regulations, with industry groups warning that compliance costs could weigh heavily on smallholder farmers.
Price collapse shakes cocoa market
Some farmers in western cocoa areas including Soubre and Duekoue told Reuters they had accepted sharply lower prices rather than risk losing entire harvests.
Farmers said they could not secure the official main-crop rate of CFA2,800 ($5.02) per kilogram and instead sold beans closer to the lower mid-crop price of CFA 1,300 per kilogram.
The price gap has intensified frustration across cocoa-growing communities where incomes depend heavily on stable seasonal payments.
While cocoa prices surged to record highs in 2025 because of supply shortages and adverse weather, markets have since retreated sharply amid weaker demand and improved supply expectations.
The volatility has exposed broader structural weaknesses in West Africa’s cocoa economy, including financing gaps, ageing plantations and dependence on government-managed pricing systems.
Africa’s commodity exporters have increasingly struggled with unstable agricultural and mining revenues as sharp global price swings expose vulnerabilities in export-dependent economies across the continent.
Next harvest now under threat
A European cocoa trader told Reuters the protests had not yet disrupted international supply flows because the unrest remained localised. However, the trader warned that next season’s harvest could suffer if farmers lose confidence and reduce investment in plantations.
That risk is politically sensitive in Cote d’Ivoire, where cocoa revenues remain central to rural livelihoods and national export earnings.
If payment delays continue, farmers may struggle to pay labour costs, purchase fertilisers or maintain ageing farms ahead of the next production cycle.
The government’s immediate priority is to prevent the protests from spreading across the cocoa belt. But the broader challenge may prove harder to resolve as falling global prices collide with rising farmer frustration and mounting pressure on West Africa’s cocoa marketing systems and export-dependent economies.
