Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire are deepening coordination on cocoa pricing as the world’s two largest producers seek to cushion farmers against volatile global markets, climate pressures and supply disruptions.
The renewed commitment came at the Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana High-Level Summit on the Future of the Cocoa Economy, held in Abidjan on June 16, 2026, where President John Dramani Mahama and his Ivorian counterpart, President Alassane Ouattara, adopted a joint declaration to strengthen cooperation across the cocoa value chain.
The two West African neighbors, which together account for about 60% of global cocoa production, pledged to implement a common framework for determining producer prices and reinforce market intelligence to ensure farmers receive fair and predictable incomes.
At the center of the discussions was the need to safeguard cocoa producers from the unpredictable swings of the international commodities market.
Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the Living Income Differential (LID), a pricing mechanism introduced in 2019 that adds a premium to cocoa sales to improve farmers’ earnings.
The two countries hope to discourage cross-border smuggling driven by price differences by harmonizing producer prices and coordinating price announcements, while strengthening their collective influence in negotiations with international buyers.
Fair Compensation, Domestic Processing
For both governments, ensuring fair compensation for farmers is increasingly viewed as essential to the long-term sustainability of the cocoa sector.
Mahama and Ouattara stressed that cocoa farmers must remain at the heart of governance in the industry, noting that improving rural livelihoods is critical to maintaining production in a sector facing mounting challenges.
Beyond pricing, the summit highlighted several threats confronting cocoa production, including climate change, aging plantations, crop diseases, and environmental degradation.
The leaders expressed concern over the growing impact of illegal mining on agricultural lands and shared water bodies, describing it as a threat not only to the environment but also to cocoa production.
They agreed to pursue joint strategies to curb illegal mining activities, restore affected ecosystems and protect water resources that support farming communities.
Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire committed to strengthening collaboration between their national research institutions to combat Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease (CSSVD), one of the most destructive diseases affecting cocoa farms across the region.
The West African giants also reiterated their ambition to move beyond exporting raw cocoa beans by increasing domestic processing capacity and promoting the consumption of finished cocoa products within Africa.
The strategy is intended to enable producer countries to capture a larger share of the global cocoa-chocolate value chain, where Africa currently produces around 80% of the world’s cocoa beans but receives only a fraction of the industry’s total value.
Another notable outcome of the summit was the decision to open the Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative to other African cocoa-producing nations.
Leaders believe a broader alliance could strengthen Africa’s collective bargaining power and improve coordination to address common challenges facing the industry.
Cocoa Production, Consumption and Trade
While Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire dominate global cocoa production, they capture only a small share of the wealth generated by the chocolate industry.
Together, they produce about 60% of the world’s cocoa, while Africa accounts for roughly 80% of global cocoa bean output. Most cocoa beans, however, are exported in raw or semi-processed form and transformed into chocolate in Europe and North America, where much of the value is created.
According to the World Bank, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana have historically earned only a fraction of the value generated along the global cocoa-chocolate supply chain, with manufacturing, branding and retail concentrated in developed economies.
This imbalance has long limited the economic benefits accruing to producer countries despite their dominant role in supplying the raw material.
Against this backdrop, the two countries see closer cooperation to strengthen their negotiating position, reduce competition between themselves and pursue common policies that increase returns for farmers.
Their latest declaration also commits both governments to expanding domestic cocoa processing, promoting consumption of finished cocoa products within Africa and inviting other African producer countries to join the alliance.
Officials believe a broader coalition could give the continent greater influence over global cocoa trade and help secure a larger share of the industry’s value.
