Close-up of ripe cocoa pods from Cameroon, highlighting sustainable farming practices for global chocolate markets.
Côte d’Ivoire will maintain its farmgate cocoa price at $2.12 per kilogram for the main harvest season, disappointing growers who had hoped for an increase after a steep cut earlier this year. The world’s top cocoa producer slashed prices by nearly 60% in March after a sharp decline in global cocoa prices left local beans more expensive than the international market. Officials have now kept that lower rate unchanged. Cocoa accounts for 14% of the country’s GDP and supports roughly five million livelihoods. The current price is a sharp drop from the record level, which was more than double the current price, announced by President Alassane Ouattara ahead of his reelection last October. But cocoa prices surged in 2024 before falling in 2025 and plunging further this year, forcing authorities to maintain the lower rate.