Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire have announced a US$400 per tonne (Living Income Differential) to be paid to cocoa farmers, as part of a set of measures they believe will further cushion cocoa farmers — having already agreed to a minimum price for a tonne of cocoa sometime last month.
A meeting in Accra between the two countries together with global processors and buyers for the beans had ended with a tentative price of US$2,600 being for a tonne of cocoa on the world market.
The two countries had a follow-up meeting in Abidjan with stakeholders to deliberate further on the challenges affecting the cocoa sector.
A statement issued after the meeting said, “Following series of engagement with key stakeholders, Cote D-Ivoire and Ghana have established a new pricing mechanism for the trading of cocoa beans which, we believe, would help provide a remunerative price for the Farmer.â€
The Mechanism which was introduced to industry players was understood. This system takes into consideration a fixed living income differential which would provide farmers with a decent income.â€
“A $400 per tonne (Living Income Differential) has been instituted to guarantee the floor price.†This means for every tonne of cocoa sold, there is an addition $400 that would go to the farmer.
Stakeholders agree to $2,600 floor price for Ghana-Cote d'Ivoire cocoa
Key stakeholders in the cocoa business have agreed in principle to Ghana-Cote d'Ivoire $2,600 floor price for a tonne of cocoa.
The agreement was reached on Wednesday, June 12, 2019, in Accra after the two nations came to a consensus on the price.
The meeting has been necessitated by the fact that the two countries only get US$6 billion annually in the US$100 billion-dollar chocolate industry.
Both Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire supply more than 65 percent of the World's cocoa.
A tonne of cocoa, according to the International Cocoa Organisation, is being sold in excess of US$2,390 on the world market.
The Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, told the media in Accra that the stakeholders, comprising traders, processors and manufacturers also agreed that Ghana and Cote D'Ivoire would not sell products from the 2020/21 cocoa season until further notice.
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