Ivory Coast and Ghana have turned down an offer to subscribe to the International Standard Organization (ISO) certification.
The two countries are the world’s largest producers of Cocoa.
ISO standards provide guidance and tools for companies wanting to ensure that their products and services meet customer’s requirements.
Ghana and Ivory Coast claim that the ISO in its current state risks worsening the plight of cocoa farmers in those countries.
The two countries have resolved to develop their own standards in order to factor in the interest of all stakeholders in the cocoa value chain.
An announcement was made at the signing of a declaration and a joint press conference in the Ivorian Capital Abidjan.
The press conference was addressed by the CEO of Ghana’s Cocoa Board, Joseph Boahen Aidoo and his Ivorian counterpart Ibrahim Kone Yves.
Mr Aidoo said “The world market price of cocoa is already making life difficult for the farmer and you want to introduce programs that will meet expectations of the consumer and further worsen the life of the farmer.”
Ghana-Ivory Coast collaboration
Ghana and Ivory Coast last year signed an agreement for closer collaboration in the areas of cocoa production and marketing.
The Accra Agreement was to tackle many challenges adversely affecting the cocoa economy in both countries.
Topmost on that plan was the issue of foreign pricing of cocoa by the West and Asia, among others.
Ghana which produced about 850,000 tonnes of cocoa beans for the 2016/2017 crop season reportedly lost about $1 billion due to the fall in cocoa prices on the world market from over $3,000 to about $1,880.
Ivory Coast on the other hand lost about $4 billion during the period under review.
Source: Africafeeds.com
