How the cocoa price crash is crushing West African farmers
Cocoa prices reached a peak in 2024 before plummeting by nearly 75%, dealing a financial blow to millions of farmers in Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire
Cocoa prices reached a peak in 2024 before plummeting by nearly 75%, dealing a financial blow to millions of farmers in Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire. Will the crisis mark a turning point for the sector? It's a tough choice. "If I send my children to school and can't bring in part of the harvest, we won't have enough money for food. Or do I take them out of school so we can harvest more cocoaand have three meals a day?" a cocoa farmer from Cote d'Ivoire, told DW. Cocoa prices have recently plunged after the historic surge to nearly $13,000 (€11,000) per metric ton in 2024. In early April 2026, the world market price temporarily fell to $3,000, a decline of more than 75% in just over a year. The low prices have a massive impact on the approximately 2.5 million smallholder farmers who grow cocoa in West Africa. Farmers like Firmin Coulibaly from Cote d'Ivoire are forced to sell their cocoa beans at very low prices. "Producers are dying in poverty even though they have crops. They have no money for medicine or food," he told DW. In Ghana, too, many farmers are suffering from delayed payments because middlemen are no longer buying their cocoa. "Because of the delayed payment, I don't have money to pay the workers who harvest the crop," Emmanuel Nojor, a cocoa farmer, said. "That's why the harvest has gone bad," he told DW. When asked how long the middlemen have been withholding his payments, he replied: "For about five months." Whether it's for medicine, pesticides, or paying day laborers, there's a shortage of everything. "I would use part of the money for my child's school fees, which I haven't been able to pay so far. He's sitting at home and wasn't able to take the exams." What led to the drop in cocoa prices?
According to the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), the high prices in 2024 were initially driven primarily by poor harvests in West Africa, resulting in a supply shortage. "Climate change is taking its toll on countries in the tropical belt," Agricultural economist Tancrede Voituriez said. "There are periods of drought followed by heavy rainfall. This causes production to drop," Voituriez explained, adding that plant diseases such as the cocoa swollen shoot virus and speculation also reduced supply in the markets and drove prices up. Cocoa farmer Emmanuel Nojor has been waiting for five months for payment from middlemen Image: Claudia Lacave/DW Then came the crash. As better harvests were forecast, many traders sold their cocoa contracts early to lock in profits. At the same time, the World Bank reported that the very high prices had dampened demand from the chocolate industry, as companies used less cocoa and turned to substitute products. Combined with a stronger US dollar, this led to a significant drop in prices. Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana produce about two-thirds of the world's cocoa, but exports are concentrated in the hands of a few large corporations. Due to low world market prices, these companies have significantly reduced their purchases. As a result, cocoa is piling up in the ports, while many farmers are left stuck with their harvests. Industry observers suspect this is a deliberate strategy to put pressure on government pricing systems and force lower prices. In Cote d'Ivoire alone, cocoa worth over $487 million remains unsold because traders and exporters are hesitant to buy at the set terms in light of the price drop. Wisdom Dogbey, the executive director of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), defends the agency's marketing strategy. COCOBOD is the government agency in Ghana that regulates the cultivation, purchase, and export of cocoa. It works in collaboration with the Ghana Cocoa Marketing Company (CMC), which acts as an intermediary between cocoa farmers in Ghana and international buyers.
The BriefWire