By Theresa Moses
Côte d’Ivoire has retained the farmgate price of cocoa at 1,200 CFA francs per kilogramme for the 2026/27 main crop, disappointing farmers who had hoped for an increase.
Agriculture Minister Bruno Nabagne Koné announced the decision on Tuesday, September 1, as the world’s largest cocoa producer opened its new main-crop season.
The price remains unchanged from the 1,200 CFA rate introduced for the mid-crop in March, but is significantly below the record 2,800 CFA per kilogramme fixed at the beginning of the 2025/26 main crop.
The decision followed a sharp decline in global cocoa prices after their record highs, which left exporters struggling with expensive stocks purchased at higher prices.
Farmers had reportedly hoped that the recovery in international cocoa prices would lead to an increase in the guaranteed price for the new season.
“We were expecting the farm-gate price to go back up a bit, either to 2,000 or to 1,800; that was the hope. Unfortunately, it’s still stuck at 1,200,” cocoa farmer Thibaut Yoro said, according to Africanews.
The Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC), which regulates the sector, sells a large portion of the expected crop in advance to enable the government to determine the guaranteed price for farmers.
Industry and government sources said more than 1.1 million tonnes of cocoa for the 2026/27 crop had already been sold forward at relatively low prices, limiting the government’s ability to raise the farmgate price without imposing additional costs on public finances.
Global cocoa prices have, however, recovered significantly from their lows earlier in the year. Cocoa prices rose from around £2,100 per tonne in early March to above £4,800 per tonne by late June, according to Reuters.
The lower Ivorian farmgate price has also raised concerns about cocoa smuggling across the country’s borders.
Neighbouring Ghana currently pays farmers the equivalent of about 2,000 CFA francs per kilogramme, creating a substantial price difference that could encourage the movement of cocoa across borders into Ghana, as well as Liberia and Guinea.
Côte d’Ivoire remains the world’s largest cocoa producer, making the farmgate price an important indicator for farmers, exporters and the international cocoa market.
The 2026/27 main crop is expected to run until February 28, 2027.
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