The world’s leading cocoa producers, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, agreed to harmonize purchasing prices and harvesting calendars in order to build a buffer from volatility in global markets that has seen the cost of chocolate soar.
The countries’ leaders, at a summit in Abidjan this week, said they would revive the so-called cocoa OPEC, established between the nations in 2018 and designed in part to protect farmers. The pact has largely been neglected as Accra and Abidjan disagreed over a number of issues, including pricing. Government-set prices mean that farmers in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, which together produce about 60% of the world’s cocoa, rarely benefit from price spikes, and struggle to reinvest in crops to keep up with global demand.
Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara said the revival of the partnership will help the countries to boost farmer incomes and respond to price shocks. Cocoa is a crucial economic engine in both countries; it accounts for 40% of Côte d’Ivoire’s export earnings, and 20% of its GDP, while in Ghana, cocoa drives up to 30% of export earnings and 8% of GDP.
