Ivory Coast's Ambitious Cocoa Buyback Plan to Stabilize Market

Ivory Coast's Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) has initiated a plan to buy 100,000 metric tons of cocoa beans from local producers. This move aims to address surplus stock held by producers due to global price declines. The program, costing over 280 billion CFA francs, seeks to avert a potential economic crisis.

By Ange Aboa. Ivory Coast's Coffee and Cocoa Council has launched a program aimed at purchasing excess cocoa beans held by local producers. The move comes after exporters refused to buy beans at the guaranteed price due to falling global cocoa prices.

The government announced that the CCC would buy 100,000 metric tons of surplus cocoa, addressing the potential economic crisis threatening local producers, often the weakest link in the cocoa value chain. The operation underscores the CCC's commitment to stabilize the market.

Kone, the CCC Director General, noted that the program would cost over 280 billion CFA francs and aims to streamline the marketing system by March. Initial purchases have begun at the Transcao trading plant, with a strategy to sell the stockpile expeditiously if buyers emerge.

(With inputs from agencies.)