IVORY COAST · COCOA
Key Facts
- —The country Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa grower, has a state-guaranteed farm-gate price for cocoa each season, overseen by the Conseil du Café-Cacao.
- —Why it matters A standoff between farmers and the state in the top supplier can disturb the beans that US chocolate makers and traders buy, although no export effect is established.
- —Why now A union rally in Daloa on Saturday 17 October 2026 vowed to continue a strike that the union says began on 16 September, and local outlets covered it on 18 October.
- —What happened The union SYNAP-CI and its president Koné Moussa kept the strike going and set out five demands, including a new head for the Conseil du Café-Cacao.
- —The numbers The 2026-27 main-crop price is 1,200 FCFA (US$2.06) a kilogram, about 57% below the 2,800 FCFA (US$4.80) of 2025-26, and the union wants 60% of the CAF export price guaranteed.
- —What it means for you US cocoa buyers and investors in Ivorian assets should watch for blockades or a price change, since no effect on exports has been shown.
- —Still open Whether the government or the regulator answers the demands, and how much cocoa is really being withheld from sale.
The Ivory Coast cocoa strike called by the farmers’ union SYNAP-CI is still on, with producers pledging at a rally in Daloa on Saturday 17 October 2026 to keep it going. The country is the world’s largest cocoa grower, so a standoff over farm prices is watched by the chocolate makers and traders who buy beans for the US market.
Linfodrome reported late on Sunday 18 October that producers from 31 regions paid tribute to union president Koné Moussa and vowed to continue. Afrik Soir, which also covered the rally, headlined a turnout of more than 10,000 without naming who counted it, and it listed five union demands, including the removal of the head of the state cocoa regulator.
The union says the strike began on Wednesday 16 September 2026, 31 days before the rally and 33 days before 19 October, after the government set the main-crop farm-gate price at 1,200 FCFA (US$2.06) a kilogram. We covered that price decision in Ivory Coast Holds Its Cocoa Price at a 57% Discount, and 1.1 Million Farmers Feel It, and this article follows the dispute since.
How the Ivory Coast Cocoa Strike Began
SYNAP-CI, the Syndicat national agricole pour le progrès en Côte d’Ivoire, held an urgent meeting of its leaders in Daloa on Sunday 13 September and gave decision makers until 16 September to act, Linfodrome reported. On 16 September it announced an unlimited strike, and KOACI quoted Koné Moussa as saying it had started that day, although Œil d’Afrique described the announcement as the filing of a strike notice.
The union’s demands at the start, as set out by Œil d’Afrique, were a higher price than 1,200 FCFA (US$2.06) a kilogram, immediate purchase of 2025-26 beans still held by farmers and the unconditional departure of the director general of the Conseil du Café-Cacao. The Conseil is the state body that regulates the cocoa and coffee sector, and its director general is Yves Brahima Koné.
Producers also pointed to late payments and problems with the producer card, KOACI reported. The card has been mandatory for selling cocoa since 1 September and feeds the national traceability system.
Koné Moussa toured producing regions from 16 to 26 September, KOACI said, with stops in Marahoué, Haut-Sassandra, Guémon, Tonkpi and Bafing. KOACI also quoted him as telling producers to keep their beans from reaching the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro, without saying how.
What Happened at the Daloa Rally
The gathering took place on Saturday 17 October at the public square in Lobia, Daloa, in the Haut-Sassandra region, Linfodrome said. Producers from the union’s branches across the country reaffirmed their determination to continue the strike for better living and working conditions.
Afrik Soir quoted Koné Moussa as saying he had not expected such a turnout, since the event was organised only days earlier. He called the summoning of a producer a disgrace for the whole nation and said he did not see his release as a victory.
Afrik Soir said he urged producers to stay mobilised and on strike until the union’s demands are met, with no end date. It added that he described the union’s role as going beyond denouncing problems to helping find answers for producers.
Afrik Soir listed five demands. They are the removal of the director general of the Conseil du Café-Cacao, the naming of a new one, a state guarantee that producers receive 60% of the CAF (cost, insurance and freight) export price, a solution for unsold cocoa held by producers and cooperatives, and a seminar of sector stakeholders on the industry’s difficulties.
The Afrik Soir report gives no response from the government or the Conseil du Café-Cacao. We found none in the other reports reviewed either.
The Price Behind the Dispute
Agriculture Minister Bruno Nabagné Koné announced the 2026-27 main-crop farm-gate price of 1,200 FCFA (US$2.06) a kilogram on 1 September, according to Sikafinance. The Agence Ivoirienne de Presse confirmed 1,200 FCFA for cocoa and 1,300 FCFA (US$2.23) for coffee at the campaign launch in Daloa on Friday 2 October.
Œil d’Afrique gives 2,800 FCFA (US$4.80) a kilogram for the 2025-26 main crop, so the new price is about 57% lower. Ecofin Agency says the Ivorian minimum price is normally set at no less than 60% of the CAF benchmark, with a 50% floor when world prices fall, and Benin Web TV wrote that authorities blame volatile world prices for the current level.
Ghana’s cocoa board raised its own price to 42,400 cedis a tonne from Friday 25 September, which Ecofin Agency puts at about US$3.65 a kilogram, roughly 75% above the Ivorian price. Ecofin warns that the gap could revive smuggling toward Ghana but quantifies no flows.
Conversions here use the euro reference rate of the European Central Bank for Friday 16 October 2026, US$1.1253 per euro, and the fixed CFA franc rate of 655.957 per euro. Figures are rounded, and the Ghana figure in dollars is Ecofin’s.
The Summons of the Union Leader
KOACI reported on Saturday 10 October that Koné Moussa had been summoned to the gendarmerie’s Section de recherches in Abidjan for Tuesday 13 October. The summons, dated 7 October, cites a judicial inquiry and a prosecutor’s instruction of 21 September from the Abidjan-Plateau court, and it does not state the alleged facts.
SYNAP-CI said in a statement of 12 October that the precise reason for the inquiry had not been communicated to it, and it urged members to stay calm. Afrik Soir said on 18 October that he has since left the gendarmerie and does not call that a victory, and it gave no details of charges or follow-up.
KOACI noted that the information available does not establish a direct link between the inquiry and the union’s actions. No report reviewed names any charge, so the reason for the inquiry stays unknown.
Who Backs the Strike and Who Does Not
The sector’s interprofession, the joint industry body, asked farmers on 8 September not to follow strike, withholding or boycott calls, Œil d’Afrique reported, naming SYNAP-CI. Seven other producer organisations met in Divo on 11 September and backed mobilisation, but they refused to demand the director general’s departure.
Fraternité Matin reported on 23 September, citing Conseil du Café-Cacao data, that 50,085 tonnes were bought through the national traceability system from 70,525 producers between 7 and 20 September. It added that 21,467 tonnes had reached the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro by 20 September, 51.6% more than at the same point in 2025.
Those figures cover only the first days of the strike and show sales continuing at that stage. The reports reviewed do not measure how far the strike has cut deliveries to the ports since.
What It Means for You
Ivory Coast and Ghana are the two largest cocoa-producing countries in the world, Ecofin Agency notes. A lasting stop in farm sales, or smuggling out of the country, could therefore reach the beans that US chocolate makers and traders buy, but the reports reviewed show no measured drop in exports.
Investors in Ivorian assets and cocoa traders should watch whether the dispute produces blockades or a policy change, neither of which the sources reviewed report. The union has told producers to keep beans from the ports, but how that would be done has not been explained.
Our guides Ivory Coast Explained 2026, a Newcomer Guide and Ivorian Cocoa Cards Record 38,000 Farmer Sales give the background on the economy and the producer card. Both are useful for readers who follow Ivorian cocoa from abroad.
What Is Not Known
Linfodrome’s article page loads its body text by script, so we could read only its headline, date and summary, which state the rally date, the 31 regions and the vow to continue the strike. The turnout of more than 10,000 appears only in the headline and lead of the Afrik Soir report, which does not say who counted it, and its body says only thousands.
No statement from the government, the Conseil du Café-Cacao or its director general on the rally or the five demands appeared in the reports reviewed. The reason for the judicial inquiry that led to Koné Moussa’s summons has not been made public in those reports.
How many farmers are actually withholding beans, and how much cocoa has reached the ports since 20 September, is not established. The next steps in the union’s mobilisation and any talks with the authorities have not been announced.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are Ivory Coast cocoa farmers on strike?
The union SYNAP-CI rejects the 1,200 FCFA (US$2.06) a kilogram farm-gate price for the 2026-27 main crop and wants the director general of the Conseil du Café-Cacao replaced. It also wants a solution for unsold beans and a state guarantee of 60% of the CAF export price.
Who leads the strike?
SYNAP-CI leads it, and its president is Koné Moussa. Other groups are split, with the interprofession opposing it and seven organisations backing mobilisation but not the call to remove the director general.
Has the Ivory Coast cocoa strike stopped exports?
That is not established in the reports reviewed. Fraternité Matin reported that 21,467 tonnes had reached the ports by 20 September, 51.6% above 2025, but that covers only the first days of the strike.
Was the union leader arrested?
Koné Moussa was summoned to the gendarmerie for Tuesday 13 October in a judicial inquiry whose reason has not been made public. Afrik Soir said he has since left the gendarmerie, and no charge is reported.
What does it mean for US chocolate buyers?
Ivory Coast and Ghana are the two largest cocoa producers in the world, so a lasting disruption could matter to buyers. No measured effect on exports or on US prices has been reported yet.
Sources: Linfodrome, 18 October 2026; Afrik Soir, 18 October 2026; KOACI, 10 October 2026; Afrik Soir, 13 October 2026; Agence Ivoirienne de Presse, 4 October 2026; Fraternité Matin, 23 September 2026; Ecofin Agency, 28 September 2026; Citi Newsroom, 25 September 2026; Sikafinance, 1 September 2026; KOACI, 17 September 2026; Œil d’Afrique, 17 September 2026; Benin Web TV, 21 September 2026; European Central Bank euro reference rate, 16 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
Part of our ongoing coverage
Africa: The New Scramble — the great-power contest over the continent.