(Ecofin Agency) - His Excellency Alassane Ouattara and Nana Akufo-Addo,  presidents of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana respectively, set up a common strategy on the sidelines of Africa CEO Forum launched yesterday in Abidjan. This is to further cope with volatility of cocoa in the international market.

Dubbed “Déclaration d’Abidjan”, this roadmap includes a battery of measures covering the production, processing and marketing systems. Both nations “committed to harmonizing their cocoa marketing policies”, through  announcement of the farm gate price, at the beginning of every campaign.

In order to enhance the production system, they will intensify scientific research, improve varieties, adopt and implement a regional program to fight the swollen shoot disease.

The two cocoa producers are also committed to processing a major part of the cocoa output and urged the private sector to invest in the processing industry in Africa.

Although this common vision should enable them to effectively steer actions to control price collapse on the market, some observers indicated that many key issues have not been addressed.

They include the recurring issues of price harmonization for farmers on both sides, which has been the main driving force to fight cocoa smuggling for several years.

Though they provide 60% of the global cocoa beans, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana capture less than 6% of the global chocolate industry’s revenue estimated at $100 billion.

Espoir Olodo