Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana agreed Tuesday to harmonise farm-gate cocoa prices and tighten cooperation, in a bid to lift incomes and give growers more power in the global chocolate trade.
President Alassane Ouattara and Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama sealed the pact at a high-level summit in Abidjan on 16 June 2026, vowing to build a “sustainable cocoa economy that places the farmer at the centre of priorities.”
Together, the two West African nations supply 60% of the world’s cocoa. But volatile prices, climate shocks, illegal gold mining, and rising sustainability demands have squeezed farmer earnings. Africa produces 80% of global cocoa yet sees only a sliver of the profits.
The new deal will align premiums and crop-season calendars, boost market coordination, and ramp up local processing so more value stays in Africa. The leaders also pledged joint scientific action against the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease ravaging farms.
Both countries plan to expand the Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative to other African producers, aiming to unify policies and strengthen the continent’s hand in global price talks.
“Fair remuneration for farmers is a pillar of the sector’s sustainability and a requirement for economic justice and social stability,” the joint declaration said.The summit builds on the 2018 Abidjan Declaration. Past wins include the Living Income Differential, farm-level traceability, and the African Regional Standards for Sustainable Cocoa (ARS-1000).
