Mahama, Ouattara Harmonise Cocoa Producer Prices to Shield Farmers from Market Volatility

Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire have agreed to harmonise cocoa producer prices and align marketing strategies, a move Presidents John Dramani Mahama and Alassane Ouattara say will shield farmers in both countries from the volatility of international markets.

The commitment was reached Tuesday, June 16, 2926, in Abidjan during the Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana High-Level Summit on the Future of the Cocoa Economy.

The summit ended with the signing of a landmark Joint Declaration that reaffirms the two nations’ joint control of about 60% of global cocoa output and their “special responsibility” to lead the sector toward economic justice.

A central pillar of the declaration is the reinforcement of the Living Income Differential alongside a common framework for determining producer prices.

By synchronising price announcements and market intelligence, the leaders said farmers will get more predictable and fairer incomes despite global price swings.

President Mahama and President Ouattara expressed satisfaction with progress made by the Joint Technical Committee and stressed that the farmer must remain at the heart of all cocoa governance decisions.

Both leaders underscored that price stability cannot be separated from sustainability and industrialisation.

The declaration also commits both countries to recognising the Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative and the African Regional Standards for Sustainable Cocoa as key tools for traceability.

On production threats, the Presidents agreed on a joint strategy to aggressively reduce illegal mining, clean up shared water bodies, and strengthen research cooperation to eliminate Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease.

To capture more value locally, Mahama and Ouattara pledged to increase domestic processing capacity and promote intra-African trade in finished cocoa products.

The “Cocoa Alliance” is also set to expand, with the two leaders inviting other African producer countries to join in order to increase Africa’s share of the global cocoa-chocolate value chain, which remains marginal despite the continent producing 80% of the world’s beans.

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