Forward sale of 2020/21 cocoa beans from Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire has resumed.
It follows the cancellation of a suspension that was enforced by the two countries on June 11, 2019, a communiqué from the cocoa sector regulators in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire has stated.
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and the Le Councel du Cafe-Cacao of Cote d’Ivoire explained in the July 16 communiqué lifting the suspension that the decision followed the successful implementation of a floor price mechanism.
The lifting of the suspension will now allow buyers of the beans to resume negotiations on forward sales agreements for the purchase of cocoa from Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
The communiqué was signed by the Chief Executive Officer of the COCOBOD, Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, and the Director General of Le Councel du Cafe-Cacao, Mr Kone Brahima Yves, and issued in Abidjan, the Ivorian capital.
The floor price mechanism, which was first introduced to cocoa sector stakeholders in Accra last month and fully instituted at a follow-up meeting in Abidjan on July 3, 2019, requires that buyers of cocoa beans from both countries add a living income differential of $400 to every tonne of cocoa.
Therefore, in addition to the prevailing price of the bean, the buyers are enjoined to add $400 to every tonne.
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