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

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By Cynthia Alo

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The Cocoa and Coffee Farmers Alliance Association of Africa (COCEFAAA) has called for a unified African cocoa producers’ bloc and a minimum floor price of not less than $6,000 per metric tonne, to coordinate production and strengthen bargaining power for farmers across the continent.

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The association said the measures would help end Africa’s dependence on commodity exchanges in London and New York, which continue to influence global cocoa pricing.

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Global President of COCEFAAA, Comrade Adeola Adegoke, made the call in a statement, while commending the successful hosting of the 7th Steering Committee of the Côte d’Ivoire–Ghana Cocoa Initiative held in Abidjan, describing it as evidence of growing producer-led cooperation in the sector.

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He noted that Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, which together account for about 60 per cent of global cocoa output, have demonstrated that coordinated producer action can significantly shape industry direction and policy discussions.

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Adegoke said the existing bilateral arrangement should be expanded into a wider continental framework that includes other cocoa-producing countries such as Nigeria, Cameroon, Togo, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

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He warned that Africa’s cocoa sector remains exposed to extreme price volatility driven by external markets, noting that prices had surged to over $11,000 per tonne at peak levels before easing sharply. He said the swing fuels the instability faced by producing countries.

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He stressed that despite supplying the bulk of global cocoa, Africa continues to receive only about 6 per cent of the estimated $165 billion chocolate value chain, a gap he said reinforces the need for stronger collective bargaining and local control of pricing structures.

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Adegoke stated: “No single commodity exchange outside Africa should dictate the earnings of African farmers for cocoa produced on African land. We must move from fragmented national responses to a coordinated African producers’ bloc.”

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