From The Rio Times · Samuel Ncube · · 3m
Ivory Coast Cocoa Strike Passes 30 Days
Ivory Coast cocoa farmers strike for 31 days, demanding higher prices and leadership changes.
In brief
Ivory Coast cocoa farmers strike for 31 days, demanding higher prices and leadership changes. Ivory Coast cocoa farmers led by SYNAP-CI union president Koné Moussa have struck for 31 days, demanding a 60% state guarantee of CAF export prices and removal of the cocoa regulator director general. Originally reported by…
Ivory Coast Cocoa Strike Passes 30 Days
The Ivory Coast cocoa strike called by the farmers' union SYNAP-CI is still on, with producers pledging at a rally in Daloa on Saturday 17 October 2026 to keep it going.
Key Facts
Ivory Coast, the world's largest cocoa grower, has a state-guaranteed farm-gate price for cocoa each season, overseen by the Conseil du Café-Cacao.
Why it matters
A standoff between farmers and the state in the top supplier can disturb the beans that US chocolate makers and traders buy, although no export effect is established.
Why now
A union rally in Daloa on Saturday 17 October 2026 vowed to continue a strike that the union says began on 16 September 2026, and local outlets covered it on 18 October 2026.
What happened
The union SYNAP-CI and its president Koné Moussa kept the strike going and set out five demands, including a new head for the Conseil du Café-Cacao.
The numbers
The 2026-27 main-crop price is 1,200 FCFA (US$2.06) a kilogram, about 57% below the 2,800 FCFA (US$4.80) of : 2025-26, and the union wants 60% of the CAF export price guaranteed.
What it means for you
US cocoa buyers and investors in Ivorian assets should watch for blockades or a price change, since no effect on exports has been shown.
Still open
Whether the government or the regulator answers the demands, and how much cocoa is really being withheld from sale.
How the strike began
SYNAP-CI held an urgent meeting of its leaders in Daloa on Sunday 13 September 2026 and gave decision makers until 16 September 2026 to act.
The union's demands
The union's demands at the start were a higher price than 1,200 FCFA (US$2.06) a kilogram, immediate purchase of 2025-26 beans still held by farmers, and the unconditional departure of the director general of the…
The price behind the dispute
Agriculture Minister Bruno Nabagné Koné announced the 2026-27 main-crop farm-gate price of 1,200 FCFA (US$2.06) a kilogram on 1 September 2026, about 57% lower than the 2025-26 price of 2,800 FCFA (US$4.80) a kilogram.
The summons of the union leader
Koné Moussa was summoned to the gendarmerie's Section de recherches in Abidjan for Tuesday 13 October 2026 in a judicial inquiry whose reason has not been made public.
Who backs the strike
Seven other producer organisations met in Divo on 11 September 2026 and backed mobilisation but refused to demand the director general's departure.
What it means for you
Investors in Ivorian assets and cocoa traders should watch whether the dispute produces blockades or a policy change, neither of which the sources reviewed report.
What is not known
How many farmers are actually withholding beans, and how much cocoa has reached the ports since 20 September 2026, is not established.
The next steps
The union has told producers to keep beans from the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro, but how that would be done has not been explained.
What to remember
Ivory Coast cocoa farmers led by SYNAP-CI union president Koné Moussa have struck for 31 days, demanding a 60% state guarantee of CAF export prices and removal of the cocoa regulator director general.
