Cote d'Ivoire sets record kilo price for cocoa

DW (English)

The price of chocolate has significantly increased. And although there are hopes for a bumper cocoa crop this year, the farmers in Cote d'Ivoire have not always profited from the trade, despite higher shop prices.

Transcript

00:01Kofi Albert has been a cocoa farmer for 18 years.

00:05The father of seven says making ends meat has been difficult

00:08because he has never made much profit from his business.

00:12But that could change after the Ivory Coast government

00:15set a record price of 4.26 euros or 2,800 sefer francs

00:21for a kilo of cocoa in early October.

00:24It's a significant increase from the 3.35 euros

00:27set for the meat harvest earlier in April.

00:33When the price of cocoa used to be 1,800 sefer francs years ago,

00:38I managed to start building the foundations of my house.

00:41But with this new price, I hope I will be able to complete it.

00:46Now I feel like I will benefit from my work.

00:49My children will also be able to stay in school

00:52and I will not need to get loans to sustain their education.

00:57Cocoa farming has faced several challenges over recent years,

01:01especially from outbreaks of disease and weather swings caused by climate change.

01:06Uncertainty over the cocoa harvest has led to dramatic fluctuations in market price over the last year.

01:13Ivory Coast is the world's largest producer of cocoa,

01:17and it shifts most of it to Europe where the prices of chocolates have slowed.

01:21Despite the rising prices of cocoa products,

01:23farmers only get a fraction of the final price.

01:26Now with the new record high price set by President Alassane Ouattara,

01:30many believe that could change.

01:32But although things are looking up for cocoa farmers with the new price,

01:38Albert says it's still too low,

01:40and he is convinced local farmers would make more money if authorities didn't regulate cocoa prices.

01:46As a farmer I work very hard.

01:51I sell my cocoa and I work so hard for a tiny profit,

01:55while those who buy from us earn more.

01:58I want the price to increase even more so that we can all profit.

02:02The debate continues over who should be in charge of cocoa pricing,

02:07and if the current pricing system best serves cocoa farmers like Albert,

02:11who do the bulk of the work.

02:13of the work.

02:14All right.

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