How global shocks forced Ivorian cocoa farmers to store beans, accept low prices

Ivorian cocoa farmers are watching stacks of unsold beans pile up in warehouses across the western part of the country, as cooperatives struggle to move stock to exporters following a decline in global cocoa prices.

Cooperatives say exporters are unwilling to pay the government-mandated farmgate price of 2,800 CFA francs ($5.09) per kilogram, set at the start of the 2025/26 crop season.

Exporters argue that the recent slump in global prices — which fell to their lowest levels in more than two years last week due to weakening demand — has made cocoa from the world’s top producer too costly to purchase at the official rate.

In an interview with Reuters shared on social media on February 16, 2026, Sekou Dagnogo, who owns a warehouse in Duekoue, explained that the slowdown in exports has left cooperatives struggling to meet their financial obligations to farmers. With warehouses filling up and sales stalled, debts continue to rise.

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“Things haven’t been going well for quite some time now, so everything is at a standstill at the moment, and we currently owe farmers a lot of money,” he said.

Dagnogo is counting on the country’s Coffee and Cocoa Council to step in and purchase the unsold beans.

In January 2026, the regulator introduced a programme to buy 100,000 metric tonnes of cocoa that had been sitting in storage for weeks.

Earlier in February, it moved to speed up the purchases amid concerns that beans kept in poor storage conditions could deteriorate in quality.

“They have assured us that they will buy back the product,” Dagnogo said.

Elsewhere, farmer Frederic Kouassi Kouassi says some buyers are offering as little as 1,500 to 1,800 CFA francs per kilogram — prices that fall well below the official minimum and are prohibited by the regulator.

“They offer us options that do not suit us, and due to a lack of resources, we are forced to accept these prices,” Kouassi Kouassi said.

According to Kouassi Kouassi, he has resorted to storing sacks of beans inside his home, worried that his stock could grow even larger before the mid-crop season begins in April 2026. Despite the difficult conditions, he says farmers have little room to negotiate.

“If someone comes and offers you even 500 CFA francs to sell what’s there, since the trees are still alive, you accept and try not to get discouraged,” Kouassi Kouassi said.

Ivorian farmers are being forced to store unsold cocoa beans in their homes and accept low prices for their harvest as demand slumps and prices fall https://t.co/8A4XVUkDP6 pic.twitter.com/gEKGNiFB3o

— Reuters (@Reuters) February 16, 2026