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Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s largest cocoa exporter, said on Thursday it would increase the guaranteed minimum price for farmers by 21 percent for the 2020-2021 growing season.
The announcement was made by President Alassane Ouattara at the start of an annual trade fair for the cocoa industry, the largest economic sector in the West African country.
“We have decided to increase the price from 825 to 1,000 CFA francs (from 1.48 to 1.79 dollars) per kilo,” he said to applause from farmers in the capital Yamoussoukro.
The minimum price is set once a year.
The announcement comes in the run-up to the October 31 presidential election in which Ouattara, 78, is controversially seeking a third term.
Critics accuse him of trying to circumvent the country’s two-term presidential limit by amending the constitution to reset his number to zero.
Around 15 people were killed in clashes in August, and the opposition has called on the public to carry out “civil disobedience”.
Ivory Coast produces more than 40 percent of the world’s cocoa, the raw ingredient in chocolate, which is grown from cocoa beans.
The 2020-21 harvest in Côte d’Ivoire is likely to be the same as in 2019-21, at around 2.1 million tonnes, according to the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), an estimate dependent on political calm.
Cocoa represents between 10 and 15 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and almost 40 percent of its export earnings, according to the World Bank.
At least five million people, or about a fifth of the population, depend on the sector for work.
‘Living income’ premium
The 1,000 CFA per kilo figure is the same as that announced last week by neighboring Ghana, which accounts for about 20 percent of world cocoa production.
The two countries have been working together since last year to try to prop up prices on the world market.
They have introduced a “living income differential” or LID, a premium aimed at combating poverty among farmers, which is negotiated with multinational cocoa and chocolate companies.
Ivory Coast. By (AFP) The new minimum price of 1,000 francs takes into account the LID of $ 400 per tonne that has been agreed for the 2020-21 season.
“If Ghana and Ivory Coast can stick together, (the) life income differential will be there forever,” said Joseph Boahen Aidoo, executive director of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), referring to Ivory Coast by its French name.
The increase to 1,000 francs brings Côte d’Ivoire’s guaranteed minimum price to 2015 levels, which then rose to 1,100 francs in 2016 before collapsing.
However, some farmers told AFP that the increase was still far below what was necessary.
“It is enough to survive. We would have preferred 1,200 francs,” said N’Dri Kouao.
“It is progress, but it is not enough to live on. We need 1,400 or 1,500 francs to cope,” said Moussa Kone, president of the National Agricultural Union for Progress of the Ivory Coast (SYNAP-CI).
Election launch
The ceremony in Yamoussoukro was practically a campaign event for Ouattara, whose bid for re-election is based on claims of stability and economic recovery.
Ouattara told farmers the increase would bring state support for the cocoa sector to 355 billion francs ($ 630 million) a year.
Sweet announcement: Ouattara announced the price increase on National Cocoa and Chocolate Day. By SIA KAMBOU (AFP) “You can count on me,” the president said.
His agriculture minister, Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani, told the audience: “Go everywhere to your villages and announce the good news of President Ouattara’s candidacy … the president has done a lot for you, in return, you have a duty to recognize it. “
The comments drew a mixture of laughter and applause.
Ouattara won the 2010 elections, but the result was rejected by then-President Laurent Gbagbo.
A brief civil war broke out, claiming around 3,000 lives before Ouattara overthrew Gbagbo, who was later tried at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
Since then, Gbagbo has been acquitted and remains in Brussels awaiting the outcome of an appeal against that verdict.
But he remains a powerful figure in a country still traumatized by violence.
