(April 2): Top cocoa grower Ivory Coast raised the price it pays farmers for their beans amid expectations for a smaller harvest, slightly narrowing the gap to the global market.

It set the farmgate price for the mid-crop that starts on April 2 at 2,200 CFA francs (RM16.13) a kilogram, Agriculture Minister Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani said in Abidjan. The rate — equal to US$3,620 (RM16,123.48) a tonne — compares with 1,800 CFA francs for the much larger main crop that just ended.

Still, it’s far below global prices of about US$8,450 a tonne. The price-setting system by governments in Ivory Coast and neighbouring Ghana has prevented farmers from fully benefiting from cocoa’s record-breaking rally that rattled the market over the past year. Years of low pay have stifled investment in ageing plantations and encouraged smuggling to other nearby nations where the market isn’t as tightly regulated and prices are much higher.

Both Ivory Coast and Ghana — which produce about half of the world’s cocoa — have taken steps to curb smuggling to countries like Liberia, Guinea and Togo. The measures include raising farmers’ pay and investigations into security.

Ivory Coast’s mid-crop is expected to be smaller than the previous year as a harsh harmattan — the seasonal dusty winds that blow from the Sahara — dried out trees and hurt flowering. The start of the harvest is also predicted to be slow, though rains in the coming weeks could boost the tail end.

The country’s mid-crop is typically reserved for local grinders to support domestic processing of beans. Ghana in November set farmer pay at 49,600 cedis (RM14,251.64) per tonne.

Uploaded by Arion Yeow