Cote d'Ivoire announces 22% increase in cocoa beans for mid season crop

Reports of irregular rainfall and drought in Cote d’Ivoire at the official start of the mid-season cocoa harvest is leading to fears that production for the world’s largest grower may drop, questioning official industry predictions that there could be a surplus of cocoa in the 2024-25 season.

Cote d’Ivoire’s regulatory body, Le Conseil Café-Cacao (CCC), has announced that the price of cocoa for the 2024-2025 intermediate season will be set at 2,200 CFA francs/kg, an increase of 22.2% compared to the price of the main crop, which was set at 1,800 CFA francs.

Writing on LinkedIn post, cocoa consultant Marc Donaldson said:  “This new 22% increase in the farmgate price paid to Ivorian farmers constitutes 44% of the current CIF export price for cocoa beans on the London market which stands at 4946 FCFA/KG (8.13 USD/KG), and is a response to the reality that the mid crop, which started this month, is expected to be well down on predictions.”

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A month ago, the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) predicted a global cocoa supply surplus of 142,000 tonnes for the 2024-25 season. Michel Arrion, executive director of the ICCO, told cocoaradar.com that the reviewed forecast, released on 28 February in its quarterly bulletin, was a “provisional” estimate of a surplus.

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This came after analysts expected a fourth deficit, which would keep pressure on demand and prices high, after three consecutive years of global cocoa bean production deficit.

Price surge

Barchart.com reports that cocoa prices surged to one-month highs this week on signs of a weak mid-crop cocoa harvest in West Africa. 

According to Rabobank, late-arriving rains in the region have limited crop growth, and recent cocoa farmer surveys from the Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana have been disappointing.

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From The Desk of CocoaRadarAnthony Myers

“Concern about Cote d’Ivoire’s upcoming mid-crop is pushing cocoa prices higher.  The mid-crop is the smaller of two annual cocoa harvests, which typically starts this month.  The average estimate for this year's Cote d’Ivoire mid-crop is 400,000 MT, down -9% from last year's 440,000 MT,” it said in its latest bulletin.

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