Ivory Coast Sells Over 400,000 Tons of 2025/26 Cocoa Export Contracts
Ivory Coast has sold more than 400,000 metric tons of cocoa export contracts to local grinding companies for the 2025/26 season, according to sources cited by Reuters. The contracts were arranged by the country’s cocoa regulator, Conseil du Café-Cacao (CCC), following the recent resumption of exporter purchases for the mid-crop.
The agreements were reached in the days after exporters resumed buying activity. Sources at the regulator and exporters confirmed that over 400,000 tons were sold within roughly ten days, highlighting strong demand from domestic processors. The contracts cover cocoa expected from the mid-crop harvest, which typically runs from April through September and represents the smaller of Ivory Coast’s two annual harvests.
The resumption of purchases followed negotiations between the regulator and exporters. The exporters’ association GEPEX, whose members include major global cocoa companies such as Barry Callebaut, Olam Group, and Cargill—reached an agreement with authorities in late February that allowed buying to restart.
Before this agreement, only 10,000 tons had been sold for the mid-crop, largely because of the sharp drop in global cocoa prices earlier in the year. According to officials at the CCC, the earlier pause in sales reflected concerns about locking in contracts while prices were declining rapidly in international markets.
The situation changed last week when the regulator revised the fixed farm-gate price paid to cocoa farmers, reducing it to 1,200 CFA francs per kilogram (approximately $2.13) for the mid-crop season. This price adjustment made it possible to resume export sales and clear contracts that had been delayed.
However, CCC sources indicated that most of the available mid-crop volume may now already be committed. Because the intermediate harvest has advanced by about a month this season, officials say there is relatively limited cocoa left to sell after the recent round of contracts. According to one CCC source quoted by Reuters, the 400,000 tons sold to grinders likely represent the majority of the mid-crop’s estimated exportable volume.
The sharp rise in cocoa prices during the past year has also created financial strain for exporters. The surge made origin purchases significantly more expensive, leaving many exporters with unsold inventories of beans stored both inland and at port warehouses. These unsold stocks accumulated while companies waited for clearer pricing conditions and regulatory adjustments.
For the global cocoa market, the development highlights how supply from Ivory Coast continues to be tightly managed by regulators. With much of the mid-crop already contracted, traders will be closely watching port arrivals, certified exchange stocks, and grinding demand in the coming months to assess whether exportable supplies remain constrained.
The announcement also underscores the growing role of domestic grinding in Ivory Coast. By directing significant volumes to local processors, the government continues its strategy of expanding value-added processing within the country, rather than exporting raw cocoa beans alone.
