ACCRA, Ghana – Stakeholders in the cocoa sector agreed last week to the proposed floor price of US$2,600 set by Ghana and Ivory Coast to boost farmers’ income. This means that any price below the floor price, the two countries will not supply the beans to the market.
The agreement follows a two-day meeting in Accra to address the huge differences between farmers’ income and money made by commodity companies, especially chocolate manufacturers.
The governments of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have expressed their commitment to unite towards setting up of a common floor price and fair living income for cocoa farmers to address the high-income disparity in the cocoa value chain.
The two countries account for 65 per cent of the global cocoa production, it was prudent for them to cooperate to tackle common challenges in the production and marketing of cocoa.
Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, the Chief Executive Ghana Cocoa Board, said the traders, manufacturers, and processors agreed to the proposed floor price of $2,600 per tonne.
However, they have requested a technical meeting on July 3, to fine tune details of its implementation. “This is a historic meeting during which suppliers and buyers have engaged and agreed on a price below which the producers will not sell,” Mr Aidoo said at a press conference.
Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire earlier on suspended forward sales of cocoa beans for the 2020/21 season until an agreement was reached on the floor price.
Mr Kone Brahima Yves, the Director-General, Le Conseil du Café-Cocao of Cote d’Ivoire, said there was consensus that farmers’ income needed to be improved. “We arrived at a consensus and everyone agrees that the producers are not well remunerated and that something must be done to improve the conditions of producers,” he said.
t was also agreed that the issues of sustainability, relating to traceability, environment and child labour, although important be decoupled from the floor price and to be discussed at another forum.
Prelude to any further engagement on the matter, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana suspended sales of the 2020/21 crop until further notice, in preparation for the implementation of the floor price.
The two-day meeting in Accra is at the behest of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and President Alassane Outtara of Cote ‘d’Ivoire and attracted key stakeholders including policy-makers, government officials, cocoa smallholder farmers, traders, cocoa processors, manufacturers and retailers.
