Cocoa big guns on standby in Ivory Coast
Source: africaintelligence.com
- Ivory Coast's cocoa regulator plans to recruit major global traders to boost exports amid a global supply crunch.
- The initiative targets six big players like Cargill and Barry Callebaut to handle up to 500,000 tonnes of beans.
- This move aims to ease farmer payment delays and stabilize prices, but could sideline smaller local buyers.
Ivory Coast's Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) is preparing to bring in heavyweight international traders to purchase and export cocoa directly from the world's top producer. The plan involves companies such as Cargill, Olam, Barry Callebaut, Touton, and others to address chronic delays in farmer payments and export bottlenecks. It matters because Ivory Coast supplies 40% of global cocoa, and disruptions here ripple through chocolate prices worldwide.