Ivory Coast to keep cocoa farmgate price low for 2026/27 season
Ivory Coast plans to keep the fixed price paid to cocoa farmers for the 2026/27 main crop season at 1,200 CFA francs per kilogram, according to four industry and two government sources. The West African nation paid farmers a record 2,800 CFA francs per kilogram at the start of the 2025/26 season before cutting the guaranteed price to 1,200 CFA francs in March as global cocoa prices retreated sharply from their historic highs. The price is at the bottom end of a 1,200-1,500 CFA francs range proposed by the regulator, the Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC). The range was based on the average achieved forward sales of the 2026/27 main crop made by the regulator between March and June this year.
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We have a clear idea of the CCC’s average sales, and we know the guaranteed price for the 2026/27 main crop could not exceed 1,300 CFA francs, the director of a European export company based in Abidjan said, adding the 1,200 CFA francs price was more realistic. In early March, cocoa was trading on global markets LCCc2 at around £2,100 per metric tonne, though it crept up slowly to around £3,800 by late June. It has since topped £4,800. Government sources said the CCC, which must sell around 80% of the projected harvest in advance in order to set a fixed farmer price, was forced to conclude deals for more than 1.1 million tonnes at low prices. Our simulations indicate that maintaining the guaranteed price is the best solution and the least costly option for public finances because, beyond that, we will have to subsidise the price once again, and that will cost billions, a government source said.
This strategy mirrors a broader trend among top producers facing market volatility. When price floors become unsustainable, governments often face a difficult choice: absorb the financial loss through subsidies or reduce the guaranteed payout to farmers, a trade-off that directly impacts the livelihood of millions of growers. The decision to hold the line at 1,200 CFA francs ensures fiscal stability but leaves the local market vulnerable to global price fluctuations that the fixed rate cannot match.
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Neighbouring Ghana, the world’s second-biggest cocoa producer, is also expected to keep its farmer price unchanged for the new season, four industry sources told Reuters. Ghana set the price at 41,392 cedis per metric tonne, or around 2,000 CFA francs per kilogram earlier this year. Under a new law, the farmer price will no longer be fixed for the entire season, and the Ghana Cocoa Board will review prices periodically. Low cocoa prices in Ivory Coast could trigger smuggling into Ghana, Liberia and Guinea, which don’t have cocoa taxes and where major foreign buyers are based, according to industry sources. Liberia and Guinea don’t grow large quantities of cocoa but have been exporting higher volumes for the past three seasons, according to exporters and industry stakeholders, who estimate annual volumes at 100,000 metric tonnes in Guinea and 30,000 metric tonnes in Liberia.
