Adnan Adams Mohammed
Cocoa farmers in Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire will enjoy an additional income on each tonne of cocoa sold as a means of bettering the lives of the farmers toil and hardwork feeding the world with about 70 percent of cocoa beans.
A US$400 per tonne (Living Income Differential) has been instituted to guarantee the floor price.
This means for every tonne of cocoa sold; there is an addition US$400 that would go to the farmer. This comes after Ghana and Ivory Coast succeeded in getting an agreement with global processors and marketers for the floor price of cocoa beans to be pegged at $2,600 per tonne.
“Following series of engagement with key stakeholders, Cote D-Ivoire and Ghana have established a new pricing mechanism for the trading of cocoa beans which, we believe, would help provide a remunerative price for the farmer”, A statement issued after follow-up meeting in Abidjan between the two countries said.
The Mechanism which was introduced to industry players was understood. This system takes into consideration a fixed living income differential which would provide farmers with a decent income.”
Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana have however promised to engage industry on issues of sustainability.
With 70% of global production, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire are co-operating to tackle common challenges in the production and marketing of cocoa, and to create a conducive platform for effective engagement with traders, processors, manufacturers, and retailers on all relevant issues of mutual interest, including farmers’ income.
There are fears that the sustenance of the new cocoa floor price could be tampered by low consumption rate of cocoa especially in Africa which accounts to just 4 per cent of global consumption rates.
