At-A-Glance
Production: Annual cocoa production volume: Approximately 2.0 million tonnes (40% of the world supply)
Cocoa Types: Primarily Forastero
Harvest Techniques: Manual harvesting (70%) and Mechanized methods (30%)
Key Regions: Main cocoa-producing areas: Gagnoa, Soubré, Daloa, San Pedro
Average Farm Size: Predominantly smallholder farms averaging 3-5 hectares
Introduction
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, stands as a monumental player in the global cocoa industry. This West African nation not only leads the world in cocoa production but also plays a crucial role in shaping the chocolate industry worldwide. Major manufacturers such as Nestlé, Mars, and Hershey rely heavily on the country’s exports, making it an indispensable part of their supply chains.
The significance of cocoa in Ivory Coast extends far beyond its contribution to the global market. It is the lifeblood of the Ivorian economy. From farmers to industrialists, including politicians and service providers, cocoa is a crucial component of all Ivorians' lives, just as it has been for their ancestors for more than a hundred years.
We trace the history of cocoa cultivation on the fertile lands of Ivory Coast, examining colonial influences, early challenges, and their impact on the country's history of production. We will also examine global significance and analyze the development of the Ivorian cocoa production over the years.
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Why Ivory Coast Matters
Global Significance
Ivory Coast holds a dominant place in the global cocoa market, a position that has been maintained for more than forty years. The country is responsible for supplying around 40% of the world's cocoa. Despite the significant challenges faced in recent years, the West African nation remains the largest exporter to major chocolate manufacturers worldwide, including industry giants such as Nestlé, Mars, and Hershey.
This also means that any event in Ivory Coast will strongly impact all the cocoa and chocolate markets worldwide. A clear example of this could be seen recently in the 2023-2024 supply shock that happened in Ivory Coast and Ghana, that led cocoa prices to rise above $12,000/MT records.
Tantamount to its importance in the global market, Ivorian cocoa plays a major role on the country’s economy, contributing about 15% to the national GDP and employing for over 5 million people, spanning direct and indirect roles in many different sectors.
Ivory Coast – Cocoa History
The history of cocoa production in Ivory Coast traces back to the French colonization in the late 1800s. After establishing a protectorate over the coastal areas and gradually expanding their control inland, Ivory Coast officially became a French colony in 1893, and the colonial administration began exploiting its natural resources, including timber, rubber, and palm oil.
Cocoa was first planted in Ivory Coast in 1895 by French agronomist Louis Tautain, who brought seeds from the island of Fernando Po (now Bioko) in Equatorial Guinea. Tautain set up a cocoa plantation near Grand-Bassam on the coast, experimented with various varieties and cultivation methods, and distributed seeds to local farmers who quickly adopted cocoa as a profitable alternative to traditional food crops.
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Local Climate
Ivory Coast's tropical climate, characterized by wet and dry seasons, proved to be ideal for cocoa growth.
The wet season, lasting from April to October, brings high rainfall (between 1500-2000 mm annually), which is essential for plant development. The dry season, from November to March, helps reduce the moisture content, providing optimal conditions for harvesting, fermenting, and drying the beans.
Early Years
Despite the initial efforts, early cocoa cultivation faced many challenges, including adapting to local conditions, soil suitability, pest management, and especially resistance from local farmers, who were skeptical about the plant.
To incentivize and support cocoa production, the colonial administration provided incentives and infrastructure, including tax exemptions, credit facilities, roads, railways, and ports. They also recruited migrant workers from neighboring countries like Burkina Faso, Mali, and Ghana to supply cheap labor for the plantations, and adopted a forced-labor system to guarantee workers in the farms.
Such measures bore fruit, and cocoa cultivation expanded from the center of the country to the less colonized areas of the West. By 1911, Ivory Coast had become the fourth-largest cocoa producer in the world, following Ghana, Nigeria, and Brazil. By 1939, it had surpassed Brazil and Nigeria, becoming second only to Ghana.
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Cocoa became the colony's main export commodity and revenue source, accounting for about 60% of total exports by the end of the colonial period.
Post-World War II Production Boost
Ivory Coast’s cocoa industry later benefited from improved labor force and laws post WW2. Immigrants came to Ivory Coast due to better life conditions and payment compared to neighboring countries. With the scarcity of work and the reforms of the post-war period, most forced labor laws were abolished in 1946.
Together, these two led to a new boom in cocoa production in the 1950s, which further consolidated Ivory Coast's position as a major cocoa producer. To manage the internal cocoa market and stabilize prices, Ivory Coast founded in 1955 the Caisse de Stabilisation des Prix des Produits Agricoles (Caistab).
Independency
Ivory Coast's independence also boosted its local cocoa industry. Influential figures leveraged the cocoa boom and their political power to advance the cocoa sector, among them Félix Houphouët-Boigny, a descendant of chiefs of a cocoa farming tribe.
Using his positions and education, Houphouët soon became one of Ivory Coast's richest farmers, using his influence to create the African Agricultural Union (Syndicat agricole africain, SAA), intended to represent the interests of native farmers against those of French citizens in Ivory Coast.
After the success of the SAA, Houphouët was able to lead a successful political career in the French Parliament, increasing his popularity among Ivorians as a defender of African farmers in France. His success ultimately led to his election as the first president in 1959.
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Post-Independence
Post-independence, Houphouët instituted a one-party system and assumed the government of Ivory Coast, where he remained for 33 years. His policies in the 1960s and 1970s were effective in boosting cocoa cultivation.
Among them were included subsidies, extension services, and higher prices paid to farmers. The measures (as well as Houphouët connections from his political career in France) attracted international partnerships with global chocolate companies and organizations.
Additionally, a new influx of immigrants arrived, lured by the promises of higher wages and better living conditions. Together, these factors significantly boosted Ivory Coast’s economy, making it French West Africa's most prosperous nation. With independence, Ivory Coast's cocoa production expanded rapidly, eventually surpassing Ghana in 1978 to become the world's leading cocoa producer.
Relationship with Ghana & France
Post-independence, Ivory Coast benefited from strong connections with French farmers, scientists, and companies, which helped develop its cocoa industry technology. These advantages allowed Ivory Coast to increase its productivity at a faster rate than its competitors.
Additionally, better cocoa prices offered by Ivory Coast attracted smuggling from Ghana, while laborers from neighboring countries moved there in search of higher wages and better living conditions.
In more recent years, both countries have developed a closer relationship in an effort to improve their profits in the cocoa market, which we will examine in more detail in the second part of this article.
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1980s crisis and Production Setback
After two decades of growth, Ivory Coast’s economy entered a severe crisis which would later negatively impact cocoa production. In the 1980s, cocoa prices plummeted, falling from $5,500 per metric ton in 1977 to $1,800 per metric ton in 1982.
The country’s reliance on cocoa took its toll, with most other sectors unable to compensate for the lost income, and some even suffering similar crashes, as was the case with coffee, whose price also fell sharply during this period. Although the Caistab acted to buffer the impact on farmers, it was not nearly enough to avoid the economic downturn.
To try to reverse the situation, the government increased its intervention in the cocoa market, attempting to artificially raise global prices and negotiate agreements with European cocoa traders and industrialists. When these attempts failed, Ivory Coast entered a financial crisis.
The reduction in exports, economic activity, and malinvestments led to a spike in foreign debt, which reached $10 billion by May 1987, prompting the government to suspend payments.
Soon after, in a desperate attempt to increase global cocoa prices, Ivory Coast suspended its exports in July. However, the attempted supply constraint failed, and in 1989 the country was forced to sell its stocks at a lower price.
The next decade was marked by economic stagnation and an intensification of ethnic conflicts, many of which were caused by disputes over cocoa farming lands.
Together, these factors eventually led to civil war and the decline of cocoa productivity in Ivory Coast, both of which we will explore in detail in the second part of this article.
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