Nigeria Mum As Ghana Dictates The Price Of Cocoa

Producers previously got 6% of earnings.

By Uche Mbah

The cocoa market, believed to have been dominated in West Africa by Nigeria, is currently being dominated by the duo of Ghana and Ivory Coast. Nigeria was believed to have accounted for at least 50% of cocoa exports from west Africa. But current statistics puts a combined efforts of Ghana and Ivory Coast as controlling 60% of the export market share of cocoa. And they have started to dictate the pace.

West Africa exports Cocoa to Europe for the chocolate and beverage industry at prices unilaterally dictated by the buyers, leaving the farmers impoverished. The elites then import the finished products under the guise of chocolates and beverages.

The Nigerian government has never challenged the status quo.

But Ghana and Ivory Coast, whose agricultural boards have teamed up to fight the menace, recently rose from a joint meeting to unilaterally fix the export price of cocoa for the buyers.

They have fixed the floor price of cocoa at $2,600 per tonne.

This came after a meeting of stakeholders after which a press conference was addressed by the chief of Ghana Cocoa board, Joseph Boahen Aidoo.  Aidoo said the buyers accepted their terms.

Cocoa is a $100, billion export business but only about $6 billion-or 6%- goes to producers.

“Ivory Coast and Ghana have suspended the sale of the 2020/2021 crop until further notice for preparation of the implementation of the floor price,” Aidoo had said, according to AFP report monitored in Lagos.

According to him, this is a historic move.

“This is the first time when the producers have called consumers and the first time whereby suppliers have called buyers to come and engage on price,” he said.

“Over the years it has been the buyers who have determined the price for the suppliers” he concluded, adding that there would be a follow-up meeting to work out how to implement the agreement.It is not clear whether Nigeria was part of the new deal.