The purchase price of cocoa beans for farmers in Cote d'Ivoire will increase to 2,200 CFA francs (3.63 U.S. dollars) per kilogram for the mid-season this year which officially started nationwide on Wednesday, the government announced. Cote d'Ivoire has two cocoa harvest seasons per year: a main harvest from October to March and an intermediate harvest, also known as the small harvest, from April to September. When the main season began last October, the government set the purchase price for producers at 1,800 CFA francs (2.97 dollars) per kilogram of cocoa beans. Usually, the purchase price for the mid-season is lower than that of the main season due to the discount resulting from the shrinking of beans caused by the drought during this period. To help farmers benefit from the soaring international cocoa prices, the government will raise the purchase price for this year's mid-season, said Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani, Minister of State and Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food Production, at a press conference on Wednesday. Cote d'Ivoire has raised the purchase prices of cocoa beans in recent marketing seasons, from 1,000 CFA francs (1.65 dollars) per kilogram in October 2023 to 1,500 CFA francs (2.47 dollars) in April 2024, and then to 1,800 francs (2.97 dollars) in October 2024. Cote d'Ivoire has implemented an advance sales system that guarantees a farmgate price throughout the season and protects producers against the volatility and fluctuations of the global market. Located in West Africa, Cote d'Ivoire is the world's leading cocoa producer, producing nearly 45 percent of the world's cocoa harvest, with a production of more than 2 million tons of cocoa beans each year. Cocoa resources contribute to nearly 15 percent of the country's GDP and represent nearly 40 percent of its export revenue.
