Three trade unions in the cocoa sector in Côte d'Ivoire, the world's largest producer, announce an "unlimited strike" from Monday to protest against the blocking of the marketing of their products.

In a strike notice addressed to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, these three trade unions indicate that they have been confronted, since November 17, 2020, with a blockage in the marketing of their products.

These are the National Agricultural Union for Progress in Côte d'Ivoire (SYNAPCI), the National Association of Coffee-Cocoa Producers of Côte d'Ivoire (ANAPROCI) and the National Union of Farmers of Côte d'Ivoire. Ivory (SYNEAGRI-CI).

Reached by telephone on Wednesday, Kanga Koffi, the president of ANAPROCI, declared that "the strike is maintained and it will indeed take place from Monday, January 18, 2021", adding that people will see how it will go. lead, without further details.

These three professional agricultural organizations (OPA) which claim to have "challenged the competent authorities", say "to note that the problem of marketing remains, worse, it has worsened and is becoming worrying".

They note that the farm gate price, set at 1,000 FCFA/Kg, "is not respected in almost all coffee-cocoa production areas". According to producers, the kilogram is sold at 850 FCFA or 900 FCFA .

The blocking of marketing is in particular due to the fact that exporters hardly take any cocoa from producers, which constitutes enormous damage for them, in a context also marked by Covid-19.

The producers grouped within these umbrella organizations expect support from the Coffee-Cocoa Council, the sector's regulatory body. They want the payment of the arrears of the carryover of stock from the 2016-2017 campaign, following the poor sale of coffee-cocoa on the world market.

In addition, these three unions denounce "clan support of certain OPAs by the Coffee-Cocoa Council in violation of the provisions setting the rules relating to the marketing of coffee-cocoa and the regulation of the sector".

Moussa Koné, president of SYNAPCI, like other union leaders, criticizes the competent authorities for "poor management of the achievements of coffee-cocoa producers and the funds allocated to some of these companies, namely SIFAC-COOP" and other structures.

Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, which together account for more than 60% of world cocoa production, have set up a Decent Income Differential (DRD) mechanism of 400 dollars, aimed at raising farmers' incomes.

Industrialists, chocolate makers and traders have, according to the Coffee-Cocoa Council, started to play a game" and use "strategies" not to pay the Living Income Differential, a mechanism visibly seized by the Covid-19 pandemic. .

Cocoa producers in Côte d'Ivoire, who accuse industrialists of "bypassing" the decent income differential mechanism, threatened in early December 2020 in Yamoussoukro, to "boycott" their sustainability program.

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