Cocoa, coffee farmers seek African bloc, $6,000 floor price to end foreign control

By Cynthia Alo

The Cocoa and Coffee Farmers Alliance Association of Africa, known as COCEFAAA, has advocated for the establishment of a consolidated coalition of cocoa producers in Africa, as well as for a minimum base price not lower than $6,000 for each metric tonne, aiming to enhance coordination in production and to fortify farmers' negotiating power throughout the continent.

The organization indicated that these strategies would assist in reducing Africa's reliance on commodity markets based in London and New York, which perpetually affect worldwide cocoa pricing.

Comrade Adeola Adegoke, the Global President of COCEFAAA, made this appeal in an announcement, applauding the successful execution of the 7th Steering Committee for the Côte d’Ivoire–Ghana Cocoa Initiative, which took place in Abidjan and described it as a sign of increasing cooperation led by producers in the industry.

He observed that Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, which together represent close to 60 percent of the world's cocoa production, have proven that collaborative actions by producers can greatly influence the direction of the industry and dialogues concerning policies.

Adegoke suggested that the current bilateral agreements should be broadened into a more comprehensive continental framework that encompasses other cocoa-producing nations such as Nigeria, Cameroon, Togo, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.

He cautioned that Africa’s cocoa industry continues to be vulnerable to severe price fluctuations influenced by global markets, citing that prices had risen above $11,000 per tonne at their peak before dropping sharply. He remarked that such volatility aggravates the challenges faced by producing nations.

He emphasized that even though Africa supplies the majority of the world’s cocoa, it still receives just around 6 percent of the roughly $165 billion value chain of chocolate, a disparity he claimed highlights the necessity for more robust collective negotiation and increased local authority over pricing mechanisms.

Adegoke asserted: “No external commodity exchange should have the power to determine the income of African farmers for cocoa cultivated on African soil. We must transition from disjointed national approaches to a united coalition of African producers.”