Ghana and Cote d’ Ivoire scheduled to meet cocoa buyers in Accra today

Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire will today Tuesday, June 11 commence a two-day meeting in Accra with buyers, processors of cocoa beans from all over the world to discuss proposals of setting a minimum price for the cocoa bean produced by the two countries.

The meeting has been necessitated by the fact that the two countries only get US$6 billion annually in the US$100 billion-dollar chocolate industry despite producing about 60 percent of the world’s cocoa needs.

The two countries last year unveiled plans to coordinate cocoa production and marketing as part of efforts to exert more control in the market after price volatilities in recent years.

A tonne of cocoa, according to the International Cocoa Organisation, is being sold in excess of US$2,390 on the world market. The goal of the two-day meeting is to discuss the possibility of agreeing to a minimum price which is enough to keep the cocoa farmer in business.

Cocobod has said it has always taken the hit when the price of cocoa slumps on the world market as it is unable to push the price drop to the cocoa farmers. Hence, its collaboration with Cote D’Ivoire to agree to a floor price will not only safeguard the farmers’ investment but the interest of the two countries.

Besides discussing the minimum price for cocoa beans, other issues expected to come up in the two-day meeting will include the use of child labour on farms, deforestation, among others.

Another meeting in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire, on the same issue is expected to be held on June 18-19, 2019.