Ivory Coast to Set 2025/26 Mid-Crop Farmgate Price Between 800 and 1,000 CFA/kg
(UPDATED)
Ivory Coast is expected to set the 2025/26 mid-crop farmgate cocoa price between 800 and 1,000 CFA per kilogram, according to government and regulatory sources. The more significant development is the decision to bring forward the start of the mid-crop season to March 1.
Authorities plan to advance the official opening of the mid-crop season, effectively reclassifying cocoa that would normally be sold under the higher-priced main crop into the lower-priced mid-crop category. This timing adjustment allows regulators to legally apply the lower 800 to 1,000 CFA per kilogram range to beans that would otherwise have qualified for the 2,800 CFA main crop rate.
Under the current system, farmers receive 2,800 CFA per kilogram during the main crop. By moving the mid-crop start date forward, the regulator can reduce the price paid to farmers without formally cutting the main crop rate. In practical terms, this represents a substantial income reduction compared with the main crop benchmark.
The decision appears driven by several pressures. Global cocoa futures have fallen sharply from the historic highs of 2024. The 2,800 CFA per kilogram main crop price has made Ivorian beans uncompetitive in export markets. Unsold cocoa stocks have reportedly accumulated at ports as exporters resisted purchasing at elevated fixed prices. At the same time, the government faces rising fiscal pressure from subsidizing the difference between guaranteed farmgate prices and prevailing international market levels.
Officials suggest the seasonal adjustment is intended to improve export competitiveness, reduce stock accumulation, align domestic pricing more closely with global market conditions, and limit the long-term fiscal burden of price support mechanisms.
Neighboring Ghana, the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, recently reduced its farmgate price earlier this month to stimulate demand and address similar competitiveness concerns. Ivory Coast’s move signals a broader regional adjustment to lower global cocoa prices and tighter exporter margins.
Maintaining the 2,800 CFA per kilogram guaranteed price under current international market conditions would require substantial state subsidies. Government sources have indicated that such support is not sustainable over the long term. Advancing the mid-crop start provides a structural mechanism to adjust pricing without announcing a direct mid-season cut to the main crop rate.
For the international cocoa market, the decision signals that producer countries are adapting to normalized lower price levels. If successful, the move could help restore export flows and reduce inventory pressure. However, the lower mid-crop rate is likely to weigh on farmer incomes and may create domestic political sensitivity.
Further clarity is expected when authorities formally announce the new rate at the end of the month.
