Cote d’Ivoire’s President Alassane Ouattara will increase the official cocoa farmgate price to 1,500 CFA francs ($2.47) per kilogramme from next Tuesday from the current 1,000 CFA, sources at five different export companies said.
The sources, who requested anonymity, said they were citing a decision at a government meeting on Saturday.
Earlier, Ouattara had validated a proposal for a price of between 1,100 and 1,200 CFA francs per kilogramme.
This was before he reversed his decision and asked that the price be even higher, the sources said.
The government and the cocoa regulator the Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) could not be reached to comment on Sunday.
Cocoa prices have more than tripled over the last year as disease and adverse weather pushed the global market to a third successive deficit.
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But the official farmgate price that growers can charge for their beans in Ivory Coast, a top producer, has yet to reflect this.
“There were several proposals on the table. As a last resort, the president wanted the highest possible price for producers. So, he decided on 1,500 CFA per kilogramme.
“This is against the 1,200 CFA previously validated,” the director of a European export company told Reuters.
“Ultimately in the current context, this is the best possible price the CCC can pay.
“This is because the sales system in Ivory Coast is such that it is difficult to change prices during the season.”
The director of another international export company said: “The president judged the world market situation to be exceptional and wanted an exceptional reaction too.” (Reuters)
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