ABIDJAN (Reuters) -Cocoa purchases in Ivory Coast have stalled at the start of the 2025/26 season, as a record farmgate price and poor-quality stocks deterred buyers and exporters, industry sources told Reuters.
The world’s top cocoa producer raised its state-guaranteed price to 2,800 CFA francs ($5.05) per kilogram on October 1, a level traders described as unusually high.
The increase has discouraged exporters from providing funds to buyers to facilitate purchases, sources said.
“This year, no funding has been provided, as was usually the case in August and September,” said a Lebanese buyer based in the southwestern port of San Pedro.
He added that banks were also reluctant to provide financing because the risk was too high in the event of a disaster.
LIQUIDITY CRUNCH HITS EXPORTERS
Exporters now face costs of between 98 million and 112 million CFA francs ($175,156–$200,179) for a truck carrying 35 to 40 tons of cocoa, the commercial director of an export firm in Abidjan said.
“No one has the money to pay for five or ten trailer trucks a day at the moment, especially if there is a problem with the quality of the beans,” he said, adding that his company had scaled back operations to preserve liquidity and improve quality control.
Buyers and cooperatives say around 50,000 tons of cocoa beans were stored ahead of the new season in anticipation of the price hike. However, grinders are rejecting the beans, citing their small size, low fat content and high acidity.
“We didn’t receive any pre-financing this year, so I was hoping to quickly sell the cocoa I had stored in order to have cash to start buying new cocoa, but no one wants to take it,” said an independent Lebanese buyer based in San Pedro.
“I have 3,000 tons available, and until I sell it, I can’t buy anything,” he told Reuters.
Another Lebanese buyer based in San Pedro said he was confident they would find a solution such as lowering the price and mixing old beans with the new crop. He currently has 900 tons of cocoa after having sold 700 tons since the start of the season.
This year’s main crop production is expected to be similar to the 2024/2025 season’s output, pod counters and exporters told Reuters, adding that the first part of the harvest would be lower due to unpredictable and mixed weather conditions.
($1 = 559.5000 CFA francs)
(Reporting by Ange Aboa; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Louise Heavens)
