• Government plans to buy 123,000 tons of unsold cocoa to calm the market
• Exporters struggle to meet contracts after a sharp fall in cocoa prices
• Funding source and final cost of the rescue operation remain unclear

The Ivorian government is seeking to calm tensions in the cocoa sector after deciding to purchase 123,000 tons of unsold beans in producing areas. The move, announced on Tuesday, January 20, is meant to reassure farmers, but uncertainty continues to weigh on the industry.

A sharp drop in cocoa prices has left exporters who signed contracts with the Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) at higher price levels struggling to honor their commitments. The situation has led, for several weeks, to trucks loaded with cocoa being held up at the export ports of San Pedro and Abidjan.

The National Agricultural Union for Progress in Côte d’Ivoire (Synapci) has reported a blockage in domestic cocoa marketing. On January 14, CCC Director General Yves Brahima Koné rejected that claim, saying some trucks parked near the ports did not have compliant bills of lading.

“The current situation in the cocoa sector is unprecedented over the past 10 years,” said Ousmane Attai Ouédraogo, an independent cocoa consultant.

“The 2016/2017 crisis led to the removal of Massandje Touré-Litsé, who was then director general of the CCC. With this new crisis, unions are now calling for Yves Brahima Koné to resign or for the government to remove him from office. But what matters most is that initial solutions are beginning to take shape,” he said.

A rescue plan that raises questions

While most stakeholders have welcomed the government’s decision, several questions remain unresolved.

An estimated CFA280 billion (about $500 million) is expected to be mobilized to purchase the 123,000 tons of cocoa. However, based on the guaranteed minimum price of CFA2,800 per kilogram announced for the 2025/2026 season, observers estimate the total cost could instead reach around CFA344.4 billion ($615 million).

Beyond the amount involved, the main uncertainty concerns the source of the funds. At this stage, no details have been provided on where the financing will come from.

“In previous years, the Coffee and Cocoa Council sold cocoa very well when prices were rising. It uses a compensation mechanism to bridge the gap between the prices paid by exporters under contract and market prices when they fall. The regulator has not made payouts in recent years, which suggests financial reserves are available. The question is why the CCC is not applying its own rules directly and why the government has to step in as a last resort,” Mr. Attai said.

Attention is now turning to developments in the coming weeks. A decade ago, the CCC was forced to resell defaulted contracts on the global market at much lower prices, suffering an unprecedented loss of more than CFA200 billion ($357 million).

Espoir Olodo