Top cocoa growers Ivory Coast and Ghana agreed on Tuesday to lift the suspension of cocoa sales for the 2020/2021 season, according to an official letter seen by Reuters. The suspension of forward sales was lifted after the two countries agreed to a new pricing mechanism that will boost prices for growers even as it could raise the cost for buyers.
Ghana and Ivory Coast produce about 60% of the world's cocoa. They decided to establish a pricing system that could ensure better incomes for farmers in response to high levels of poverty among growers. The two nations had suspended forward sales for 2020/2021 in June. The two countries agreed earlier this month to institute a fixed "living income differential" of $400 per tonne for every cocoa contract sold by either country in the 2020/2021 season, replacing earlier proposals of an outright floor price.