Ivorian cocoa traders, whose country is the world's largest producer, will benefit from a 20% stake in bean exports, an offer to face competition from multinationals, the government of Côte d'Ivoire announced on Wednesday.
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"Since the 2016-2017 campaign, Ivorian operators involved in the trading and processing of cocoa have experienced serious economic and financial difficulties which have caused the disappearance of about 50% of these economic operators"
, underlines a press release from the council. ministers. Faced with this situation, the government decided to promote
"the emergence in the sector of national champions, and to create the conditions for the sustainability of their activities, by allocating 20% of bean exports to Ivorian coffee exporters and processors. and cocoa ”
, the text continues.
"Thus, multinationals will have to systematically cede 20% of the volume of any release contract to national exporters or processors in the form of international contracts"
, specifies the government.
"End the monopoly"
The Ivorian Traders Group (GNI), which brings together 15 national coffee and cocoa export companies, has always denounced
"unfair competition from multinational chocolate companies which could lead them to go bankrupt"
. For the GNI, we must
"put an end to the monopoly"
of the Swiss group Barry Callebaut, world number one in industrial chocolate, of Olam (Singapore), Cargill (United States), Ecom (Switzerland) and the French groups Sucden and Touton. These six multinationals dominate the Ivorian export market by purchasing almost all of the national cocoa production, more than 80% of which is sent to Europe.
"This decision by the Ivorian government is beneficial for Ivorian companies in the cocoa sector, which will be able to benefit from export contracts in order to invest in the industry,"
Fabien Guei, GNI spokesperson, told AFP.
Cocoa is strategic for Côte d'Ivoire, which is the world's largest producer, with 40% of the market.
Brown gold represents 10% of Ivorian GDP and 40% of its export earnings.
It supports five million people, or about a fifth of the population, according to the World Bank.
