Cocoa Prices |

Why African Cocoa Growers Are Having an OPEC Moment

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The world’s top cocoa producers have long been at the mercy of traders who set cocoa prices thousands of miles away in London and New York. Now the producers are trying to do something about it. West African neighbours Ivory Coast and Ghana, which grow about 60 percent of the world’s cocoa, have outlined wide-ranging plans to cooperate on production and marketing in hopes of gaining more influence over…

Ghana May Struggle to Repay Lenders’ $1.3 Billion Cocoa Loan

Posted on by The Editorial Team

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa)- Ghana Cocoa Board may struggle to fully pay back loans of $1.3 billion as this season’s harvest will likely be smaller than first anticipated, according to the head of the industry regulator. The world’s second-biggest grower signed for the loans with lenders such as Credit Agricole SA and Natixis SA prior to the start of the annual harvest in October to pay farmers for their beans. Ghana will probably not meet…

Ivory Coast May Legalize Cocoa Farming in Some Protected Forests

Posted on by The Editorial Team

ABIDJAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer, plans to legalize farming on almost 5 million acres of protected reserves to help balance the rebuilding of forests with an output of its most important export. The government wants to reclassify protected forests that have been destroyed by more than three-quarters because of unauthorized farming — most of it cocoa — into “protected agroforest” areas, according to a Forestry Ministry document obtained by…

Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana Resilient to Credit Pressure from 10-yr low in Cocoa Prices

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – While cocoa prices at 10-year lows will put pressure on the economies and fiscal position of leading producers Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, both will be able to withstand short-term price fluctuations, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report today. Current average cocoa prices reflect a drop of around 30% compared to mid-2016. The report, “Sovereigns — Africa: Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana Resilient to Credit Pressures from Fall in Cocoa…