West Africa Cocoa Farm Gate Price 2025-26 Surges

Monday 29th December 2025

By inAfrika Newsroom

Farmers in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana are heading into the new season with West Africa cocoa farm gate price 2025 26 at record highs but with trees under stress. Ivorian exporters expect output for 2025/26 to fall by about 10%, from an estimated 1.8 million tonnes to roughly 1.62 million tonnes, after years of drought, poor rains and ageing trees.

Ghana’s regulators are still dealing with the fallout from the last season. The country delayed delivery of 370,000 tonnes of cocoa in 2023/24 after harvests fell to their lowest level in two decades, below 550,000 tonnes.  Earlier reports put actual output closer to 425,000 tonnes, the weakest in modern records.

Global prices hit historic levels earlier this year, rising more than 170% in 2024 and staying volatile through 2025. Yet many growers say they still struggle. National marketing boards set farm-gate prices at the start of the season. However, disease, swollen-shoot virus, illegal mining and high input costs continue to erode yields.

Industry analysts now warn that 70–80% of global cocoa, which comes from Africa, is at risk if replanting and farm-level support remain slow.

Next steps – West Africa cocoa farm gate price 2025-26

Governments in Abidjan and Accra are using the current price window to push through long-planned reforms. Officials are expanding replanting schemes, moving to cut down diseased trees and offer improved seedlings.

At the same time, both countries are trying to enforce traceability rules to meet new EU deforestation laws. They hope this will protect access to premium markets and channel more of the $400-per-tonne Living Income Differential into farmers’ pockets.

Traders say buyers are watching weather patterns closely. Any further drought or cold spells could force new downward revisions to supply and keep futures markets tight.

Why it matters – West Africa cocoa farm gate price 2025-26

Cocoa is central to rural livelihoods in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. When production falls for several seasons, communities lose jobs, tax revenues fall, and young people migrate. Globally, a third year of tight supply will keep chocolate prices high and could accelerate shifts in recipes and sourcing. Yet the bigger risk is structural: if farmers keep uprooting cocoa for more lucrative or less risky crops, Africa’s share of the cocoa market could shrink, reshaping an industry built around West African beans.