(Ecofin Agency) - In Côte d’Ivoire the national cocoa traders have decided to react to the supremacy of their international counterparts in the sector. In order to become more competitive, they have decided to create an Ivorian Traders Association (GNI).

This structure is the result of the merger of six cocoa and coffee export companies, indicated the press note. Conscious of the issues which led to the creation of GNI, one of the exporters declared: “We have to fight and restore a certain balance to be competitive, otherwise the national companies will disappear altogether”.

And for the Ivorian traders, this equilibrium comes through an increase of their market shares which is currently around 5%. If the goal of 20% of market shares was announced, the traders are aware that they will have to overcome their challenges in accessing funding to reach it.

If Côte d’Ivoire is the global leader for cocoa with 1.73 million tons produced during the last season, the marketing of the brown gold is mainly controlled by majors such as Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) or Barry Callebaut. In this context, the GNI members know that the road to a position as a major player in the sector is still long, but they at least have the satisfaction of knowing that they have taken the first in this direction.