Stakeholders in the cocoa sector agree on US$2,600 cocoa minimum price

This was after the two leading producers of cocoa (Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire) proposed the new price for the cash crop at a two-day meeting held in Accra.

The meeting which was called at the instance of the two countries was attended by processors, traders, chocolate manufacturers among other organizations that play various roles in the cocoa industry.

After the new price has been announced a technical committee is expected to be constituted in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire on July 3, 2019. The committee will present a road map for the implementation of the floor price regime.

This means that when the minimum price becomes effective, the two countries will only sell cocoa beans from US$2,600 floor price and upwards on the world market.

Currently, a tonne of cocoa, according to the International Cocoa Organisation, is being sold in excess of US$2,390 on the world market. The goal of the two-day meeting is to discuss the possibility of agreeing to a minimum price which is enough to keep the cocoa farmer in business.

A joint press conference by the two countries, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, is expected to make an official announcement of the outcome of the meeting.

This meeting was held because the two countries only get US$6 billion annually in the US$100 billion-dollar chocolate industry despite producing more than 60 percent of the world’s cocoa needs.