“Cameroon and Nigeria account for about 15% of production; if they joined Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, they would constitute 75% of production,” says Alex Assanvo, Executive Secretary of CIGCI.
With 4 West African countries united to fight for fair costs in vastly undervalued luxury, farmers’ profits can improve, he says.
“Being in combination provides a more powerful voice to think about how we can work in combination with procurement systems and set policy,” he adds.
While the existing organization of the world’s two largest manufacturers already accounts for 60% of the world’s cocoa, it still can’t determine the price.
“For us, the most important thing is that the paintings are combined to create much more powerful frame paintings and create a smart block,” adds Assanvo.
A chocolate shop “Made in Ivory Coast” gets in the middle of its cocoa revolution
Cocoa farmers in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire hold company for higher price
Although the price for Ivorian farmers rose to 1. 30 euros per kilo, announced with maturity last month, the geopolitical situation in Ukraine has also affected cocoa farmers, says Côte d’Ivoire’s Agriculture Minister Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani.
“While input costs have risen sharply, output costs have fallen in foreign markets. This paradoxical market trend is a fear for cocoa farmers,” Adjoumani told AFP.
Cocoa farmers are among the poorest in the agricultural sector: they get 6% of the billion-euro global cocoa market, which is controlled by commercial giants.
Representatives from Cameroon and Nigeria were invited to an IGCI assembly in Abidjan to initiate the procedure of accession to the initiative, he said after the assembly.
President Alassane Ouattara and his Ghanaian counterpart, Nana Akufo-Addo, officially presented the in 2017.