Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa producer, will buy 100,000 metric tons of surplus cocoa from farmers to stabilise the market and support smallholders facing severe financial pressure, Agriculture Minister Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani said.
The intervention comes as the cocoa sector confronts an unprecedented crisis. Since October 2025, exports have slowed, stockpiles have built up, and many farmers are struggling to meet basic household needs, including food, healthcare, and funeral costs.
“Today, producers are dying. Producers are dying of poverty even though they have products; they cannot afford to pay for medical care or to live,” said Marty Somda, director of the Cabend cooperative. He recounted a farmer who lost his wife and, despite having cocoa worth roughly 9 million CFA francs (US$14,400), could not raise even a few francs for the funeral.
Cocoa prices in Ivory Coast are set by the government twice a year at the farm gate. For the 2025/26 main crop, President Alassane Ouattara raised the price to a record 2,800 CFA francs (US$4.50) per kilo. However, global market prices have fallen to around $5,000 per tonne (US$5 per kilo), forcing some farmers to sell below the official rate to meet immediate financial needs.
“I was given an order to come and pay. But how can I pay? They forced me to take a bag of cocoa to sell at a price that is unaffordable,” said Laurent Kone, a farmer in Duekoue. “The government set the price at 2,800 CFA francs per kilo, but today buyers take cocoa at 2,000 francs (US$3.20) because of immediate needs. How can we save human lives?”
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The surplus partly stems from regional dynamics. Cocoa that would ordinarily have been exported to neighbouring Liberia and Ghana has remained in the country, while some production from these countries has been transported into Ivory Coast, further increasing stockpiles, Adjoumani said.
The Coffee and Cocoa Council will purchase the 100,000 tons of excess cocoa, aiming to relieve financial pressure on farmers and stabilise the domestic market. Yves Brahima Kone, the council’s director, reassured producers: “We have made forecasts. All of Ivory Coast’s production from our plantations will be purchased. I wanted to reassure our producers.”
Cocoa is critical to the Ivorian economy. About one in five Ivorians relies directly or indirectly on the crop, which generates income for farmers, transporters, labourers, and traders. It also accounts for a significant share of national export earnings, making any disruption a serious economic and social concern.
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Experts warn that if low prices persist and stockpiles continue to rise, farmers may reduce investment in their farms or abandon cocoa cultivation altogether, potentially affecting global supply. Ivory Coast produces around 2 million tonnes of cocoa annually, roughly 40 percent of global output.
Farmers are calling for measures beyond the purchase plan, including access to credit, emergency support programs, and mechanisms to stabilise farm-gate prices against global volatility. Analysts say such reforms are essential to maintain the sector’s long-term viability.
The government’s intervention, coupled with the record farm-gate price, is aimed at ensuring cocoa remains a sustainable livelihood for millions of Ivorian smallholders while preserving the country’s leading position in the global market. The coming months will be a crucial test for the sector, as authorities balance market stability, farmers’ welfare, and international price pressures.
