Cocoa supplies remain extremely tight, with prices breaking record after record and the market grappling with deficits in the last three seasons. That has meant many companies are paying farmers more than the price set by the government to secure beans, even if traders say that’s against the rules set by the industry regulator in Ivory Coast.
Ivory Coast usually allocates a small percentage of the cocoa crop each year to be exported by members of the Groupement des Negociants Ivoiriens, an association of local shippers also known as GNI. Last week the group called on its members to reach out to discuss the execution of export contracts with the two traders, which are also some of the world’s largest cocoa processors, according to a letter seen by Bloomberg.
Ivorian exporters have been paying farmers more to secure beans. As a result, they now want the traders to pay more to receive the beans, too.
Ivory Coast sets the price paid to cocoa farmers and has the power to intervene to enforce what international traders pay to middlemen. Industry regulator Le Conseil Cafe-Cacao last year cracked down on international buyers paying above the mandated price for beans delivered to their facilities.
Barry Callebaut, Olam and the GNI didn’t respond to requests for comment. A spokeswoman for the CCC said the institution is not involved in any dispute.
