• Ivory Coast authorities may reduce the farmgate cocoa price, following Ghana’s 28.6% cut.

• International cocoa prices have fallen about 70% from their late-2024 peak.

• Ghana and Ivory Coast, which supply about 60% of global cocoa output, face a critical test of their price coordination alliance.

In Ivory Coast, authorities may follow Ghana by lowering the farmgate cocoa price. Reuters reported on Wednesday, February 18, that sources close to the matter said an interministerial committee met to discuss the issue and will announce a decision soon.

If authorities confirm the move, they will end a standoff that has opposed the Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) and traders for several weeks. Traders have pushed for a reduction in the purchase price, which authorities currently fix at CFA2,800 per kilogram (about $5,000 per tonne), after international prices fell about 70% from their late-2024 peak.

For its part, Ghana announced last week that it reduced its farmgate price by 28.6% to 41,392 cedis ($3,764 per tonne) for the remainder of the 2025/2026 season. Authorities in Ivory Coast have not disclosed details on the scale of any potential reduction.

However, observers estimate that any cut in Ivory Coast will match or approach Ghana’s reduction in order to limit the long-term flow of Ivorian cocoa toward the former Gold Coast. Regarding timing, some analysts expect authorities to implement a price cut during the mid-crop season, which will start in April and end in September.

Ivory Coast–Ghana: An Alliance Under Pressure?

While market participants await details from the Ivorian government or the sector regulator, observers agree that the crisis will test the strength of cooperation between the two countries in cocoa.

Since 2017, the two heavyweights, which supply 60% of global output, have strengthened ties during a price crisis in order to gain leverage in the market and secure a larger share of the global cocoa value chain.

The alliance fought for and secured the introduction in 2020/2021 of a $400 per tonne Living Income Differential paid by global traders in order to improve farmers’ living conditions.

With the renewed price slump, market attention will again focus on the two countries, whose marketing systems differ. Ivory Coast operates a fully liberalized system, while Ghana allows partial private sector participation.

Effective price coordination may prove decisive in the coming months. Alex Assanvo, executive secretary of the Initiative cacao Côte d’Ivoire – Ghana (ICCIG), said the two countries could discuss the issue at a future meeting.

“The organization remains mobilized to coordinate policies in both countries,” he told Reuters, adding that stakeholders across the sector would meet to review market developments and propose improvements to price stabilization mechanisms.

This article was initially published in French by Espoir Olodo

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum