Ivory Coast to hike farmgate cocoa prices to 21% this season

Ivory Coast plans to increase the fixed farmgate price paid to cocoa farmers by more than 21% to 1,000 CFA Francs ($1.84) per kilogram in the 2020/2021 season, sources from the country’s Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) said on Thursday.

In June 2019 Ivory Coast and Ghana established a price floor of $2,600 per tonne and a Living Income Differential (LID) of $400 per tonne, in order to tackle poverty among farmers.

During a visit to Moronou region in the east of the country, President Alassane Ouattara, who is running for another term next October, announced that he had good news to announce to planters in October without giving more details.

CCC sources confirmed President Ouattara will announce the price increase himself on Oct. 1 in Yamoussoukro.

Last month the world’s two largest cocoa producers, Ivory Coast and Ghana, created a joint body to improve coordination in research, price setting and the fight against child labour.

Ghana is expected to announce an equivalent increase in farmgate prices.