Ghana – Cote d’Ivoire partnership could stabilise cocoa prices – Expert

A supply and value chain expert, Vincent Ebo Ocran, is proposing a partnership between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire as a measure to ensure a stabilisation of cocoa prices on the world market.

He argued that the two countries being Ghana and Ivory Coast being the largest cocoa producers in the world unfortunately has little or no control over cocoa prices on the international market.

Though the two countries are the largest cocoa producers in the world, they have little or no control over cocoa pricing on the international market. Currently cocoa prices have dropped by 30% on the international market ; the lowest recorded in 10 years. A tonne of the commodity sells at 1,916 dollars compared to last year’s price of.

Commenting on how Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire could become a major force in the determination of prices, Mr Ocran said the solution lies in the establishment of joint mega factories to process the commodity as against exporting the raw beans.

“If Ghana and Ivory Coast come together and put mega factories inside the border and have government policy that says we no longer going to export beans, we are going to produce all the beans into various products from cocoa. That way we can control prices at a point and also make more money from the products” he said on 3FM.

According to Mr Ocran, one other way to stabilize the price fall is for COCOBOD to go into joint venture with private processors, noting “We can give them cocoa on credit to process and spread the profit with them”.