Cocoa buyers from Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire agreed on Wednesday, June 12, at the minimum purchase price of $ 2,600 per ton of cocoa proposed by the governments of the two countries to solve the problem of imbalance between farmers' incomes and profits from large commodity traders.

Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire account for almost two-thirds of the world's cocoa production, but these countries have a limited impact on international cocoa prices, which, due to overproduction, have remained low over the past few years.

This week, industry representatives met in Ghana's capital Accra to discuss the total minimum price for cocoa beans produced in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire that would protect farmers' livelihoods.

Traders, manufacturers and processors agreed with the proposed minimum price of $ 2,600 per ton, but on July 3 they asked for a technical meeting to discuss implementation details, the ministries of agriculture of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire reported.

“This is a historic meeting during which suppliers and buyers agreed on a minimum price for cocoa, below which producers would not sell their products,” Joseph Aidu, CocaBod Executive Director, said at a press conference.

His colleague Yves Kone said: "We have reached a consensus, and everyone agrees that manufacturers do not receive proper remuneration and that something needs to be done to improve the conditions of manufacturers."

Both countries agreed to harmonize their sales system in order to have a greater impact on international prices.