• 70% fall in cocoa prices since late 2024 peak shapes discussions

• Ghana cuts farmgate price by 28.6%; Côte d’Ivoire keeps CFA2,800/kg

• Unsold stocks, weak demand push prices to two-year low

The cocoa industry met in Amsterdam on February 17–18 for the World Cocoa Foundation Partnership Meeting (WCFPM), against the backdrop of a sharp downturn in global prices.

More than 500 delegates attended the annual event, held under the theme “Securing the Future of Cocoa in a Changing World.” Multinationals and traders including Mondelez, Hershey, and Nestlé were present. Yet much of the focus was on West Africa.

Senior officials from Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, the world’s two largest cocoa producers, were absent. Their absence highlighted the pressure currently facing both countries.

Global cocoa prices have fallen about 70% since their peak in late 2024, creating strain across producing countries and disrupting trade flows.

“We are confronting unprecedented volatility in cocoa prices,” said Chris Vincent, President of the World Cocoa Foundation, in his opening remarks.

In Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, cocoa bags have accumulated in ports. Buyers facing liquidity constraints are reluctant to pay the farmgate prices set for the 2025/2026 season following the drop in global markets.

Same crisis, different responses

Ghana chose to adjust its pricing. On February 12, authorities reduced the farmgate price by 28.6% to 41,392 cedis ($3,764) for the remainder of the 2025/2026 season.

“The current situation is primarily due to buyers' reluctance to purchase Ghanaian cocoa, which has become uncompetitive and very expensive,” Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson said.

The aim is to restore trader interest and clear about 50,000 tons of cocoa currently held at ports, according to the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod).

Côte d’Ivoire adopted a different approach. In January, the government launched a program to purchase 123,000 tons of cocoa that had been stored for several weeks, at an estimated cost of CFA280 billion ($506 million).

The regulator has maintained the farmgate price at CFA2,800 per kilogram, set at the start of the 2025/2026 season in October, compared with CFA1,800 a year earlier.

Buyers argue that the level remains high. In addition to the fixed price, they must pay the origin differential linked to quality and the $400-per-ton Living Income Differential introduced in the 2020/2021 season to improve producer incomes.

Meanwhile, cocoa prices in New York fell last week to their lowest level in more than two years. Large unsold stocks in the cocoa belt, weaker global demand, and expectations of a surplus in the 2025/2026 season continue to weigh on the market.

Observers warn that prolonged storage may affect bean quality in the coming weeks. They also caution that the lack of coordination between Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana could increase cross-border smuggling because of price differences.

Espoir Olodo