BTA Admin Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire are moving to strengthen their control over the global cocoa market after agreeing to align cocoa producer pricing policies from the 2026/2027 season.
The agreement marks one of the most significant attempts yet by the world’s two largest cocoa producers to coordinate pricing, curb cross-border smuggling and improve their bargaining power against global commodity traders and chocolate manufacturers.
Together, the two West African countries produce more than 60% of the world’s cocoa supply, making their decisions increasingly important to global food companies, commodity markets and millions of farmers across the region.
Africa’s cocoa giants want more control
The agreement was reached during the 7th Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative held in Abidjan ahead of a high-level summit on the future of the cocoa economy.
The discussions brought together Ghana’s Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, and Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Agriculture, Bruno Nabagné Koné, as both countries sought deeper coordination in a market they dominate.
“The two countries agreed to harmonise farm gate prices through some measures,” Dr Forson said while presenting the committee’s conclusions.
The new framework will include coordinated producer pricing, increased market data sharing, collaboration between cocoa trading institutions and the harmonisation of cocoa crop calendars beginning with the 2026/2027 season.
Under the agreement, both countries will officially adopt the same cocoa year calendar running from September 1 to August 31.
A joint technical task force will also design and periodically review a coordinated pricing framework.
Smuggling has become a growing problem
One of the main goals of the agreement is to reduce cocoa smuggling between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
Smuggling has intensified in recent years whenever one country offers significantly higher producer prices than the other.
Farmers and middlemen often move cocoa beans illegally across borders to take advantage of better prices, reducing official export revenues and distorting production figures.
The new coordinated pricing strategy aims to narrow those differences and make cross-border arbitrage less attractive.
For both governments, stabilising producer prices is also seen as essential to protecting farmer incomes and improving long-term sustainability in the cocoa sector.
The cocoa industry is under pressure
The agreement comes at a difficult time for the global cocoa industry.
Both Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire have suffered declining production in recent years due to poor weather, plant disease, ageing farms and structural weaknesses within the sector.
Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa production fell from about 2.25 million tonnes in 2020/2021 to around 1.67 million tonnes in 2023/2024 after several seasons of weather disruptions and weaker yields.
Ghana has experienced an even steeper decline.
Production dropped from roughly 1.05 million tonnes in 2020/2021 to around 530,000 tonnes in 2023/2024, one of the country’s weakest performances in decades.
The decline has exposed deep challenges within Ghana’s cocoa sector, including swollen shoot disease, ageing cocoa trees, illegal gold mining in cocoa-growing regions, financing problems and persistent smuggling.
Despite lower harvests, global cocoa prices have surged due to tightening supply conditions, helping both countries earn more export revenue.
Ghana’s cocoa exports reportedly rose from about $1.94 billion in 2024 to around $3.86 billion in 2025 as higher prices offset weaker output.
West Africa wants a bigger share of cocoa wealth
The latest agreement also reflects a broader frustration shared by both countries over how global cocoa wealth is distributed.
Although Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire produce most of the world’s cocoa beans, the largest profits in the chocolate industry are still largely captured outside Africa through processing, branding and retail distribution.
That imbalance has fueled years of efforts to increase the bargaining power of producing countries.
In 2019, the two nations introduced the Living Income Differential (LID), a $400-per-tonne premium designed to improve farmer incomes and strengthen their negotiating position with global buyers.
However, the policy delivered mixed results as international buyers adjusted pricing structures and market discounts partially offset the premium.
The new pricing coordination framework appears to be a more ambitious attempt to deepen cooperation and tighten control over the global cocoa trade.
Global buyers could face a tougher negotiating environment
For international cocoa traders, grinders and chocolate manufacturers, the agreement could significantly reshape market dynamics.
Coordinated pricing and closer market cooperation between the two largest producers may reduce opportunities for buyers to exploit pricing gaps between countries.
It could also create a more predictable supply environment if both nations successfully stabilise farmer incentives and reduce illegal cross-border trade.
However, tighter coordination may also strengthen West Africa’s leverage in future price negotiations, potentially increasing costs for global cocoa buyers.
The move reflects a growing trend across Africa where resource-producing countries are increasingly seeking greater influence over pricing, supply chains and the long-term value generated from their commodities.
For Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, the cocoa agreement is about more than agriculture.
It is part of a larger effort to shift more power back toward the countries that produce the world’s most important raw materials.
