Posted by Chinenye on Thu 25th Jun, 2026 - tori.ng
A major push is underway from African cocoa producers seeking to reshape how global prices are set, with calls for a unified bloc that would give farmers stronger control over earnings.
(COCEFAAA. Photo by Vanguard News)
The Cocoa and Coffee Farmers Alliance Association of Africa (COCEFAAA) has called for the establishment of a unified African cocoa producers' bloc and a minimum floor price of no less than $6,000 per metric tonne, aimed at coordinating production and strengthening the collective bargaining power of farmers across the continent.
The association said the measures would help reduce Africa's dependence on commodity exchanges in London and New York, which continue to exert significant influence over global cocoa pricing.
COCEFAAA Global President 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 in Abidjan, describing it as evidence of growing producer-led cooperation in the sector.
He noted that Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, which together account for roughly 60 per cent of global cocoa output, had demonstrated that coordinated producer action can meaningfully shape industry direction and policy discussions.
Adegoke called for the existing bilateral arrangement to be expanded into a broader continental framework encompassing other cocoa-producing nations including Nigeria, Cameroon, Togo, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.
He warned that Africa's cocoa sector remains highly exposed to extreme price volatility driven by external markets, pointing to prices that surged beyond $11,000 per tonne at their peak before declining sharply a swing he said entrenches instability in producing countries.
He further stressed that despite supplying the vast majority of the world's cocoa, Africa captures only around 6 per cent of the estimated $165 billion global chocolate value chain, a disparity he said underscores the urgent need for stronger collective bargaining and greater local control over pricing structures.
He called for a shift from fragmented national responses to a coordinated continental producers' bloc, arguing that no commodity exchange outside Africa should dictate the earnings of African farmers for cocoa grown on African soil.