Cocoa farmers in Ghana and Ivory Coast face bitter times as chocolate market slumps

Cocoa beans rot in Ivory Coast after commodity crash

In 2024, a surge in cocoa on international markets reached more than $12,000 per metric ton, the highest in decades. Then it crashed to around $4,000 as supply outstripped demand

Meet the African cocoa farmers who are letting their crops rot because the commodity price has fallen so much

Manu Yaw Fofie was born into the cocoa farming business, but the land bequeathed to him has become more of a burden than a blessing. A sharp fall in cocoa prices over the past year has left beans rotting in some West African warehouses, while global chocolate makers scramble for supplies and consumers seek their fix. With less money coming in, the 52-year-old Fofie in Ghana has taken the desperate step of giving part of his land to illegal sand …

Cocoa farmers in Ghana and Ivory Coast face bitter times as chocolate market slumps

Chocolate bars may have shot up in price but West Africa's cocoa farmers are facing economic ruin.

Rotting cocoa and a commodity crash push West African farmers to seek other options

Hundreds of thousands of farmers in West Africa rely on cocoa farming for a living. In Ivory Coast, cocoa bean exports make up 40% of the total export revenue. In neighboring Ghana, they make up nearly 15%.

Cocoa beans rot and West African farmers seek other options after commodity crash

Manu Yaw Fofie was born into the cocoa farming business, but the land bequeathed to him has become more of a burden than a blessing. A sharp fall in cocoa prices over the past year has left beans rotting in some West African warehouses, while global chocolate makers scramble for supplies and consumers seek their fix.