Imprisonment of two to ten years and a fine of one to 50 million FCFA is now in force against crooked exporters of cashew nuts in Côte d'Ivoire to neighboring countries.

This provision is included in Ordinance No. 2018-437 of May 3, 2018 on the repression of the illicit marketing and export of agricultural products subject to approval presented Thursday by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani to the National Assembly was adopted by the deputies who are members of the Economic and Financial Affairs Committee (CAEF).

According to Minister Adjoumani, any person directly or interposed without holding an approval issued by the competent authority under the conditions provided for by the decree, buys to resell after transformation or not, the agricultural products is punished by the said penalties and fines. .

"There are crooked traders who take advantage of certain situations to perpetrate illegal export and marketing", denounced the first head of Agriculture, welcoming the taking of severe repressive measures against these crooked traders, including the exporters.

According to Mr. Adjoumani, the situation is explained by the fact that due to support measures for local processing, the domestic prices practiced in Côte d'Ivoire are relatively low compared to neighboring countries.

This increases the pressure on the Ivorian product. Indeed, while farm gate prices in Côte d'Ivoire are between 500 and 650 FCFA/kg, they are between 600 and 725 FCFA/kg in neighboring countries, particularly Ghana and Burkina Faso.

For the Minister of Agriculture, the scourge is observed mainly in the border regions of Indénié-Djuablin, Gontougo, Bounkani and Tchologo and weakly in Poro, Bagoué, Folon and Kabadougou.

Between 150,000 and 200,000 tons of cashew are fraudulently leaving the country. This situation leads, in terms of taxation and incidental taxation, to a shortfall of FCfa 17 billion for the State, according to the Cotton and Cashew Council.

After this text on the cashew nut, another bill relating to the fixing of the rules relating to the marketing of coffee and cocoa to the regulation of the coffee-cocoa sector was adopted by the elected representatives of the people.

This is according to Mr. Adjoumani the establishment of the Board of Directors and an Advisory Council contrary to the old law.

In addition, with this new law, the State of Côte d'Ivoire has the opportunity to know its main customers, but also to negotiate the prices of its convenience, said the Minister of Agriculture.