How much cocoa does Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) produce?

More than any other country. The ICCO put the 2024/25 crop at 1.681 million tonnes, about 36% of world output, and the 2025/26 crop was reported at nearly 2.2 million tonnes. Early estimates for 2026/27, published in September 2026, were about 1.8 million tonnes. Since 1 March 2026 the main crop runs from 1 September to 28 February and the mid crop from 1 March to 31 August.

Who can export cocoa beans from Ivory Coast?

Only companies and cooperatives licensed by the Conseil du Café-Cacao for the season; 109 held a licence for 2025/26. The Conseil sells export rights by auction, sets the farmgate price and checks quality and weight on every lot presented for export. CBIL is a commodity brokerage and does not export on its own account: it brokers each lot between a licensed exporter and a named buyer, against independent inspection.

What is the cocoa farmgate price in Côte d'Ivoire for 2026/27?

1,200 CFA francs a kilo, about USD 2.12, announced on 1 September 2026 for the 2026/27 main crop. The 2025/26 main crop opened at a record 2,800 CFA francs on 1 October 2025, and the price was cut to 1,200 for the mid crop from March 2026 after the world market fell. The farmgate price is what the grower is paid; an export price is built from the futures market, the origin differential and the costs to FOB.

What quality is Ivory Coast cocoa sold on?

Usually Good Fermented, main crop, under Federation of Cocoa Commerce terms: not more than 5% slaty and 5% defective beans in the cut test, and a bean count of 100 or fewer per 100 g, above which an allowance is due. ISO 2451 sets moisture at 7.5% at most, and beans stored above 8% risk mould. Pressers also set a free fatty acid limit, since 1.75% is the legal maximum for cocoa butter in the EU.

Does Côte d'Ivoire make chocolate, or only export beans?

It grinds a large part of its crop and makes a little chocolate. The Conseil du Café-Cacao reported 650,000 tonnes processed in 2025/26, 30% of the crop, with installed capacity due to rise from 1.155 to 1.344 million tonnes in 2026/27. Most of that leaves as cocoa liquor, butter, cake and powder. Chocolate making is smaller: in October 2026 Barry Callebaut's SACO, with 230,000 tonnes of grinding capacity, said it planned to triple its chocolate line for the local and regional market.

West Africa · Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Cocoa Beans, FOB Abidjan and San Pedro

The largest cocoa origin: a crop near 2.2 million tonnes in 2025/26, a farmgate price of 1,200 CFA francs a kilo, and exports only through exporters licensed by the Conseil du Café-Cacao

Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) grows more cocoa than any other country. The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) put its 2024/25 crop at 1.681 million tonnes, up 0.4%, in a world crop of 4.698 million tonnes, which is about 36%; the ICCO has since revised the world figure for that season to 4.733 million tonnes, with grindings of 4.649 million and a surplus of 37,000 tonnes. For 2025/26 the crop was put at nearly 2.2 million tonnes, and early estimates for 2026/27 were about 1.8 million tonnes (both as reported on 2 September 2026). The calendar changed on 1 March 2026: the main crop now runs from 1 September to 28 February and the mid crop from 1 March to 31 August, where the season used to open on 1 October. The country's own export declarations for calendar 2025 show 1,095,471 tonnes of beans (HS 1801) to 24 countries, a slight undercount because one line carries a value without a weight, after 1,058,578 tonnes in 2024. The Netherlands took 287,473 tonnes (26.2%), Belgium 165,164 (15.1%), the United States 94,786 (8.7%), Germany 84,501 (7.7%), Malaysia 68,440, Canada 67,739, the United Kingdom 59,174 and Türkiye 53,397; the declared value of beans for the Netherlands rose from about USD 3,784 a tonne in 2024 to USD 6,281 in 2025. Read from the other side, 38 importing countries declared 931,152 tonnes from Côte d'Ivoire in 2025, led by the Netherlands with 215,398 tonnes. Europe takes about 70% of the country's cocoa exports. The rest of the crop is ground at home: the ICCO put 2024/25 grindings at 695,000 tonnes, and the Conseil du Café-Cacao reported 650,000 tonnes processed in 2025/26, a rate of 30%, against installed capacity of 1.155 million tonnes that is due to reach 1.344 million in 2026/27.

The origin is sold through the Conseil du Café-Cacao (CCC), the state regulator. Under the system it described to the ICCO in March 2015, the CCC sells export rights for part of the coming crop forward by auction, in two sessions a day, sells the balance spot during the season, and sets a guaranteed farmgate price of at least 60% of the reference CIF price. That price was 1,800 CFA francs a kilo in 2024/25 and a record 2,800 from 1 October 2025; it was cut to 1,200 for the mid crop from March 2026 as the world market fell, and on 1 September 2026 the government held it at 1,200 (about USD 2.12) for the 2026/27 main crop. The state bought back 100,000 tonnes of unsold beans at 2,800, an operation finished in early August 2026. Cocoa futures were near USD 4,700 a tonne on 6 November 2026, a four-month low. Since 2019 Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana have also charged a Living Income Differential of USD 400 a tonne on their export contracts. Only companies and cooperatives licensed by the CCC may buy and export: 109 held a licence for 2025/26, against 106 the season before. A broker therefore does not ship Ivorian cocoa on its own account. CBIL is a commodity brokerage: each lot is brokered between a named seller, which here is a CCC-licensed exporter, and a named buyer against independent inspection. Contracts follow the Federation of Cocoa Commerce terms, under which Good Fermented means not more than 5% slaty and 5% defective beans by count, and main-crop beans of 100 or fewer per 100 g carry no allowance; ISO 2451 Grade I is tighter at 3% mouldy and 3% slaty, with moisture at or below 7.5%. Free fatty acids matter to a presser because 1.75% is the legal limit for cocoa butter in the EU. Beans load at Abidjan and San Pedro in new jute bags, typically 60 to 65 kg, in containers or break-bulk, or loose in lined containers or directly in the hold, the mega-bulk method of several thousand tonnes a shipment that can cost up to one third less than bags. For the European Union, the Deforestation Regulation as amended by Regulation (EU) 2025/2650 applies from 30 December 2026 to large and medium operators and from 30 June 2027 to micro and small ones: the operator that first places the beans on the EU market files a due diligence statement, and the supplier must hand over the geolocation of the plots. Côte d'Ivoire's national traceability system, with producer cards and the ARS 1000 standard, was in use for 2026/27 purchases in September 2026.

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The market in figures

Crop, ICCO 2024/25: 1.681 million t, up 0.4%, about 36% of a world crop of 4.698 million t
Crop estimates (2 September 2026): 2025/26 nearly 2.2 million t · 2026/27 about 1.8 million t
Seasons since 1 March 2026: Main crop 1 September to 28 February · mid crop 1 March to 31 August
Bean exports declared, 2025 (HS 1801): 1,095,471 t: Netherlands 26.2% · Belgium 15.1% · USA 8.7% · Germany 7.7%
Ground in the country: 650,000 t in 2025/26, a 30% rate · capacity 1.155 million t, 1.344 million t due in 2026/27
Farmgate price: 1,200 CFA francs/kg for the 2026/27 main crop (set 1 September 2026) · 2,800 from 1 October 2025 · 1,200 from March 2026
Export licences: CCC-licensed companies and cooperatives only: 109 for 2025/26
Contract quality: FCC Good Fermented: 5% slaty and 5% defective at most · bean count 100 per 100 g or fewer · moisture 7.5% at most (ISO 2451)
EU Deforestation Regulation: 30 December 2026 for large and medium operators · 30 June 2027 for micro and small · plot geolocation and due diligence statement

Landed values are the importing country's declared CIF, not CBIL prices.

Questions buyers ask

How much cocoa does Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) produce?: More than any other country. The ICCO put the 2024/25 crop at 1.681 million tonnes, about 36% of world output, and the 2025/26 crop was reported at nearly 2.2 million tonnes. Early estimates for 2026/27, published in September 2026, were about 1.8 million tonnes. Since 1 March 2026 the main crop runs from 1 September to 28 February and the mid crop from 1 March to 31 August.
Who can export cocoa beans from Ivory Coast?: Only companies and cooperatives licensed by the Conseil du Café-Cacao for the season; 109 held a licence for 2025/26. The Conseil sells export rights by auction, sets the farmgate price and checks quality and weight on every lot presented for export. CBIL is a commodity brokerage and does not export on its own account: it brokers each lot between a licensed exporter and a named buyer, against independent inspection.
What is the cocoa farmgate price in Côte d'Ivoire for 2026/27?: 1,200 CFA francs a kilo, about USD 2.12, announced on 1 September 2026 for the 2026/27 main crop. The 2025/26 main crop opened at a record 2,800 CFA francs on 1 October 2025, and the price was cut to 1,200 for the mid crop from March 2026 after the world market fell. The farmgate price is what the grower is paid; an export price is built from the futures market, the origin differential and the costs to FOB.
What does Ivorian cocoa need to enter the EU under the Deforestation Regulation?: The regulation applies from 30 December 2026 to large and medium operators and from 30 June 2027 to micro and small ones, after the postponement in Regulation (EU) 2025/2650. The operator that first places the beans on the EU market files a due diligence statement, and the supplier must provide the geolocation of the plots where the cocoa was grown and show it was produced legally. Confirm that the exporter can hand over this data before contracting, not after loading.
What quality is Ivory Coast cocoa sold on?: Usually Good Fermented, main crop, under Federation of Cocoa Commerce terms: not more than 5% slaty and 5% defective beans in the cut test, and a bean count of 100 or fewer per 100 g, above which an allowance is due. ISO 2451 sets moisture at 7.5% at most, and beans stored above 8% risk mould. Pressers also set a free fatty acid limit, since 1.75% is the legal maximum for cocoa butter in the EU.
Does Côte d'Ivoire make chocolate, or only export beans?: It grinds a large part of its crop and makes a little chocolate. The Conseil du Café-Cacao reported 650,000 tonnes processed in 2025/26, 30% of the crop, with installed capacity due to rise from 1.155 to 1.344 million tonnes in 2026/27. Most of that leaves as cocoa liquor, butter, cake and powder. Chocolate making is smaller: in October 2026 Barry Callebaut's SACO, with 230,000 tonnes of grinding capacity, said it planned to triple its chocolate line for the local and regional market.