File photo of bags of cocoa
Ivory Coast could emulate Ghana by cutting the price paid to farmers for their cocoa beans, Reuters reported Thursday, citing government sources.
Ghana said last week it was cutting the price paid to farmers by nearly 30 percent to 41,000 cedis (around $3,700) per tonne of cocoa.
Authorities said the move was needed to stabilise the sector, which has struggled due to a fall in global cocoa prices.
Reuters reported that an Ivorian inter-ministerial committee had met over the issue.
The farmgate price is set at the start of the harvest season.
But falling prices have left the country’s agency charged with buying up cocoa beans behind on payments to farmers and stuck with stock it has been unable to sell.
Ivory Coast and Ghana together account for about 60% of the global output of cocoa.
Source:
www.ghanaweb.com