The Ivorian cocoa regulator says U.S. chocolate maker Hershey's move to buy cheap beans from the New York futures exchange is an attempt to derail plans by Ivory Coast and Ghana to increase farmers' income.
Ivory Coast and Ghana, the world's top producers, are expected to sell their first full cocoa crop this season under a new scheme that includes a price premium of $400 per tonne, but they have clashed with industry over its implementation.
While Hershey and other chocolate makers support the premium, known as a living income differential (LID), Hershey has also struck a deal to take delivery of as much as 30,000 tonnes of beans through the ICE exchange.
The scheme will allow the company to avoid paying the LID for those beans.
Yves Kone, head of Ivory Coast's Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC), said in a Nov. 18 letter to the president of the World Cocoa Foundation industry group that the purchase signaled the company's opposition to the LID scheme.
He accused cocoa and chocolate companies of thwarting government attempts to combat farmer poverty.
Nana Oboadie is the President of the Cocoa Farmers Association in Ghana. Explains to WADR the issues they face in this sector.
