Côte d'Ivoire cuts cocoa producer price by nearly 60%: govt

Côte d'Ivoire, the world's leading cocoa producer, cut on Wednesday the price paid to its growers by nearly 60%, the government said, in a bid to address a sales slump affecting the sector.

Agriculture Minister Bruno Kone announced the reduction to 1,200 CFA francs a kilogramme ($2, 1.82 euros) – which comes amid a fall in world cocoa prices and an oversupply crisis.

"The price of cocoa on the international market is forcing us to make an adjustment," Kone said.

The Côte d'Ivoire government sets the price of cocoa paid to its producers twice a year. Its latest pricing announcement comes a month earlier than normal.

Millions of Côte d'Ivoire citizens depend on cocoa sector

The sector accounts for 14% of the West African country's gross domestic product and around five million people depend on it for their living.

In October, just ahead of an election won by President Alassane Ouattara, authorities set the price at a record high of 2,800 CFA francs a kilogramme.

But, global cocoa prices which went through the roof in 2024 and started to drop in 2025, have plunged this year, meaning Côte d'Ivoire cocoa has recently cost much more than world market prices.

"We would all have liked a better price, but you have all followed the trend in the international price," the minister said on Wednesday.