Ravichandran Palani’s Post

West Africa: Ivory Coast raises cocoa price above Ghana's to combat smuggling Ivory Coast, the world's largest cocoa producer, is increasing its producer price by 20% to 1,800 CFA francs per kilogram for the next harvest in a bid to combat smuggling. The global cocoa deficit persists for the third consecutive year due to the poor harvest in West Africa, and only a slight surplus of around 90,000 tonnes is expected for the new season. Ghana's cocoa price is slightly lower than that of Ivory Coast, in order to align prices and reduce illicit exports to neighbouring countries. Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, has increased the price it pays farmers by 20 percent to 1,800 CFA francs ($3.06) per kilogram for the upcoming harvest that begins Oct. 1, Agriculture Minister Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani said. The new rate is slightly higher than Ghana, which set its price at $3,039 per tonne for the season that began this month. The measure is intended to discourage the smuggling of Ivorian cocoa to neighboring countries such as Ghana, Liberia and Guinea, where prices often reflect closer alignment with world market rates. However, it may not fully prevent illicit exports to these regions. Last season 's poor harvest in West Africa , due to unfavourable weather and disease, contributed to a global cocoa deficit for the third consecutive year. While production is expected to recover slightly, analysts are forecasting only a small surplus of around 90,000 tonnes for the new season. Key Takeaways The increase in producer prices of cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire highlights the challenges facing West African producers. While the price increase is intended to curb smuggling to neighbouring countries, it does little to address the broader problem of farmers receiving prices below world market prices. This gap has hampered investment in cocoa farms, exacerbating production challenges such as adverse weather and crop diseases. Despite the price increases, Ivorian and Ghanaian farmers are still receiving far less than the world market price, which hit a record high of $11,000 per tonne earlier this year. Although cocoa futures prices have stabilised at around $7,700 per tonne, the supply deficit persists, due to low production in recent years. La Côte d'Ivoire augmente le prix du cacao au-dessus de celui du Ghana pour lutter contre la contrebande https://lnkd.in/ed2_4rVk

The cocoa market is once again very worried about West African supply A tonne of cocoa once again crossed the $10,000 threshold at the end of last week. The supply of beans from Ivory Coast and Ghana, the two leading producing countries, continues to fall. Ivory Coast even banned exports of unprocessed beans in June when the secondary harvest should be in full swing. This is officially to allow local primary processing factories to obtain supplies; they would still have 350,000 tonnes to cover. The ban could be extended into July. “ We are worried ,” a multinational bean crusher operator told us in San Pedro. We meet every two days and we have observed a slowdown for two weeks, production is falling .” The Coffee-Cocoa Council, for its part, would have stopped selling in advance the next campaign at 940,000 tonnes, a third less than last year, because it will be necessary to roll over the contracts, not honored this season, to the next , to the tune of 150,000 tonnes. See more clearly on production and stocks In Ghana, the world's second largest supplier of cocoa, the situation is not much better. Several sources estimate that there will be a shortage of not 250,000 tonnes, but 350,000 tonnes of beans, to honor last year's advance sales, reports Reuters. News that is once again making the cocoa markets shudder. Especially since we do not know the state of stocks at processors. To try to see things more clearly, the International Cocoa Organization is organizing two extraordinary sessions in the coming days on the state of these reserves and on the current year's cocoa production, which is constantly being reassessed. https://lnkd.in/eggTqBEG

At the opening of the World Cocoa Conference, we are presenting our research on the cocoa trading system, conducted by Friedel Huetz-Adams. The study focusses on the learnings from the "Living Income Differential" that was introduced by Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire in 2019 to obtain higher prices for cocoa farmers. Insiders had expected that this would lead to the lowering of origin (quality) differentials. They turned out to be right. The mechanics of the cocoa sector, with its particular focus on the futures market doesn't allow for sustainability premiums and fair prices. Cocoa traders will never take responsibility for higher prices if they are not covered by companies or futures market. Chocolate companies and supermarket hide behind "laws of the market" and ignore the laws of human rights. It's ironic to see cocoa prices hitting 13.000$/ton today as a result of failed harvests. It turns out that companies are able to pay fair prices, but only willing to do so when they are cornered by the market. Personal thought: This crisis could have been averted if companies would have paid fair prices these past years, along with their commitments for living incomes. Farmers would have been able to invest in climate resilient farms. Farmers would have been very happy with a price of 5.000$. I hope that this study contributes to constructive conversations on market reform and effective regulation. https://lnkd.in/eadkj4ec Oxfam-Solidariteit Koen Van Troos Evelyn Bahn Antonie Fountain Charles Snoeck Liesbeth Van Meulder Anouk Franck Julia Christian

#Confectionery industry under pressure as cocoa prices rise and #Ghana sees economic recovery The global #agricultural market is currently experiencing stability, with investors anticipating the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, amidst concerns over rising cocoa prices in the chocolate #industry. #Cocoa prices have seen a significant increase over the past year, peaking at an all-time high in April 2024, before a 34% decrease due to forecasts of better weather conditions in #West #Africa, the main cocoa production region. Despite this decrease, volatility in the cocoa market continues to pose a threat to #chocolate manufacturers, impacting #profit margins and increasing #costs, especially for small producers and independent brands. In West Africa, Ghana is experiencing economic recovery with a growth rate of 6.9% in Q2 2024, primarily driven by the natural resource extraction sectors. However, the cocoa sector is contracting due to crop diseases and adverse weather conditions, which is negatively affecting the country's trade balance. Despite these challenges, there are expectations of market stabilization with the recovery of #harvests, although uncertainty remains due to climate and phytosanitary risks, as well as the influence of global monetary policies on international trade and consumer purchasing power. https://lnkd.in/dGWx5dCZ #cacao #mercado #precios #chocolate #industria #какао

While Cameroon sells its cocoa at almost 4,500 FCFA, the world's leading producer, Côte d'Ivoire, is still selling at 1,000F. Here are the basic reasons. 4,225 FCFA. This is the current price per kilogram of cocoa in Cameroon. This level of remuneration is one of the highest in the world, and four times higher than in Côte d'Ivoire. Several reasons are given to explain this price difference between the two countries. According to the experts, the way cocoa prices are set differs from one country to another. In Côte d'Ivoire, for example, prices are set differently to guarantee a minimum. Eighty percent of the harvest is sold around October, and then prices fluctuate between October and April. There can be adjustments six months later", assured an expert on an Ivorian channel. In Cameroon, on the other hand, things are completely different. Prices fluctuate according to the cost of world markets. What's more, we can sell throughout the year, so it's much easier for farmers to take full advantage of price rises in the short term. Marketing In Cameroon, the marketing system is completely liberalized. In other words, traders are fairly close to producers. Growers can sell their crops directly to multinationals. There aren't as many intermediaries as there are in Côte d'Ivoire. "In Côte d'Ivoire there are trackers, traders, cooperatives and so on. At the end of the day, the producer is a long way from the multinational". Quality Cameroon's strategy is to attach value to quality, so as to be able to raise the stakes and compete with the highest prices. To this end, the government has introduced a premium for the quality and production of certified cocoa, as well as the renovation of drying kilns to avoid traditional wood-fired drying. In addition, centers of processing excellence have been set up in the main production basins. This article Agriculture : le cacao à plus de 4000 FCFA/Kg au Cameroun, seulement 1000FCFA/Kg en Côte d'Ivoire, Pourquoi? appeared first on Journalducameroun.com.

The main misfortune related to the cocoa price surge wasn’t higher prices for chocoholics, it was the fact that cocoa farmers didn’t really benefit. Farmgate prices for the season are set in advance through forward sales, and the spread between farmer receipts and market prices is the widest in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana – the world’s two largest cocoa producers. Ivorian authorities have now increased local cocoa farmgate prices by 20%. While a positive development, farmers still have the incentive to smuggle beans given that they can sell them for three times the local price in neighbouring countries. In Southern Africa, Mozambique's monetary authorities have cut the benchmark interest rate by 100 bps, while South Africa’s latest manufacturing PMI shows a substantial improvement in business conditions.

While the price of dry cocoa beans rose by more than 200% from Rs 325/kg in January to Rs 1,020/kg last week, the price of wet beans increased from Rs 85/kg to nearly Rs 400/kg, a whopping rise of 375% in four months. The sharp increase in international cocoa prices is attributed to a collapse in production in west African countries, like Ivory Coast and Ghana, which account for 60% of global production. https://lnkd.in/gMD3BPJ8

-Price rise needs Cabinet approval -Ghana also increased prices in April -Price increase in Ivory Coast could follow ACCRA, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Ghana will increase the state-guaranteed price paid to its cocoa farmers by nearly 45% for the 2024/25 crop season, two sources with knowledge of the price review told Reuters, to help boost their incomes and deter bean smuggling out of the country. The world's number two cocoa producer raised the farmgate price by more than 58% to 33,120 cedi ($2,123.08) per metric ton, or 2,070 cedi per 64 kilogram (kg), in April for the rest of the 2023/24 season. https://lnkd.in/dr2gShWi

From being the world’s second-highest cacao producer to growing no beans at all, Ghana’s fruitful cacao trade has abruptly stopped, causing prices to soar and traders to liquidate. Similar mishaps are occurring in Ivory Coast, its coastal neighbour—together, they amount to 60% of the globe’s cocoa supply. Experts believe there are a myriad of factors to blame but are still scratching their heads at how to rapidly replenish their once-overflowing fields.

Nigeria to face historic surge in food prices in 2025, warns AFEX https://lnkd.in/dZ2F4spu #millinginsights #grains #flour #storage #silo #investments #wheat #gmo #foodsafety #durum #oilseeds #edibleoils #commoditytrading #newproduct #acquisition #bakingindustrynews #financialstatements #snacknews