Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s top cocoa producer, has reduced the farmgate price for its growers by nearly 60 percent, a dramatic adjustment aimed at stabilising its vital sector amid a severe global market downturn.
The government announced the new price on Wednesday, setting it at 1,200 CFA francs per kilogram ($2.00, 1.82 euros). This decision, revealed by Agriculture Minister Bruno Kone, directly responds to a sharp plunge in international cocoa prices following a period of record highs. “The price of cocoa on the international market is forcing us to make an adjustment,” Kone stated. The reduction addresses a growing oversupply crisis that has rendered Ivorian cocoa significantly more expensive than global benchmarks.
This pricing shift arrives unusually early; the Ivorian government typically adjusts cocoa prices bi-annually. The sector is an economic cornerstone, contributing approximately 14 percent of the nation’s GDP and providing livelihoods for around five million people. The move starkly contrasts with the record high of 2,800 CFA francs per kilogram set in October, shortly before President Alassane Ouattara’s re-election. That peak reflected the extraordinary prices of 2024, which began collapsing in 2025.
The minister acknowledged the hardship, noting, “We would all have liked a better price, but you have all followed the trend in the international price.” The price cut underscores the extreme vulnerability of Côte d’Ivoire’s economy to volatile commodity markets. With global prices having surged in 2024 and now in decline, the government’s intervention seeks to realign domestic rates with reality, prioritising sector sustainability over grower income in the short term. The adjustment highlights the challenging calculus facing the world’s largest cocoa exporter as it navigates a profound market correction.
