The suspension was announced in Accra on Tuesday (June 11, 2019) by the two top cocoa producing countries to about 300 stakeholders in the cocoa value chain.
Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire have put on hold the sale of cocoa beans to the open market under the 2020/2021 crop season until further notice.
cocoa beans
The stakeholders at the meeting include traders, processors, and chocolate manufacturers.
The suspension is part of efforts by the two countries which produce over 65% of cocoa globally to get stakeholders in the value chain to give farmers a fair price that reflects their contribution to the sustenance of the industry.
This is the first time the world's top two cocoa growers have done such a thing. They argue that this is meant to put pressure on stakeholders to adopt a floor price for the soft crop.
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Under the arrangement for a floor price, the two countries have agreed that none of them will sell their produce in the international market below the agreed minimum price.
