Decline in international cocoa prices creates unsold stocks and stalled payments for producers in key growing regions.
Côte d’Ivoire’s cocoa remains unsold and many farmers remain unpaid as a slump in international cocoa prices prompts buyers to withhold purchases, disrupting cash flows in producer communities.
Local exporters and buying houses delay purchases when prices drop, creating a backlog of unsold cocoa at collection points and leaving farmers without expected payments for recent deliveries. The situation heightens income insecurity in rural areas that depend on cocoa sales for household livelihoods.
Traders and cooperatives in major cocoa-growing regions face lower offers from international buyers after prices fall on futures markets, and that several buying houses limit purchases until prices stabilize, causing physical stock to pile up at local depots.
Farmers says that they deliver harvests to collection points and receive no payment or only partial advances, leaving them unable to cover farm costs and household expenses. Local cooperative leaders report rising tensions at collection centers as unpaid balances accumulate.
Some exporters cite an inability to obtain financing at previous rates amid the price fall, which constrains their capacity to purchase and move cocoa onto international shipments.