Ivory Coast Launches Cocoa Buyback Programme to Absorb Farmer Stockpiles
Source: Reuters
Abidjan, January 29, 2026 — Ivory Coast’s Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) has formally launched a programme to purchase cocoa stocks held by local farmers, aiming to relieve mounting pressure caused by unsold beans accumulating across producing regions.
The initiative follows a government announcement last week confirming that the CCC would step in to buy up to 100,000 metric tons of surplus cocoa after exporters reduced purchases amid declining global prices.
According to exporters and cooperatives, Ivorian cocoa has recently become less competitive on the international market due to its pricing structure. Buyers have continued to purchase beans at the guaranteed farmgate price of 2,000 CFA francs per kilogram, but have also pushed for a reduction — or complete removal — of the country’s quality premium, known as the origin differential.
In October, President Alassane Ouattara raised the fixed farmgate price for the 2025/26 main crop to a record level, a move intended to support farmers’ incomes but which has since complicated export demand under weaker global market conditions.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, CCC Director General Yves Brahima Koné said the regulator expects to purchase up to 100,000 tons of cocoa by the end of March, following recent efforts to streamline domestic marketing and logistics.
“Purchases have already begun for cocoa that farmers have been unable to sell for several weeks,” Koné said, adding that the programme is designed to stabilise the market and ease pressure on rural producers.
The buyback scheme is expected to cost more than 280 billion CFA francs (approximately $516 million) and is intended to prevent social disruption in a country where cocoa farmers remain the most vulnerable segment of a value chain dominated by multinational traders and chocolate manufacturers.
The first phase of the programme focuses on buying and storing cocoa beans, while a second phase will prioritise exporting the accumulated stocks once market conditions improve. Koné noted that the CCC is prepared to release the cocoa quickly if buyers show interest.
On Thursday, the CCC also confirmed it had taken delivery of 200 tons of newly purchased beans at its Transcao trading facility and plans to buy an average of 10,000 tons per week, representing purchases of roughly 5.43 billion CFA francs weekly.
