Smugglers offering higher prices to farmers are still diverting some of top producer Ivory Coast's cocoa beans into neighbouring Ghana, co-operatives and buyers said on Wednesday. An accountant at the Coopanon co-operative in Agnibilekrou near the Ghanaian border said he was struggling to meet even substantially reduced buying targets.
"For the last three years, we haven't been able to achieve our purchase targets because we are situated near the border with Ghana and a lot of the cocoa is being sent over there," said Vameke Meite.
"Farmers are selling directly to Ghana because the price is higher than that offered by the co-operatives," he said, adding he was now struggling to find 500 tonnes a season when his purchase targets in previous seasons were up to 3,000 tonnes.
Smuggling to Ghana is particularly attractive when prices are low because it allows farmers and middlemen to avoid many of the taxes levied on the product in Ivory Coast.
Prices paid to farmers selling near the border average around 400 to 425 CFA francs ($0.79 to 0.84), at least a quarter more than around 300 CFA francs paid by the Ivorian buyers.
Ivory Coast's Coffee and Cocoa Bourse set the farmgate price at 390 CFA francs per kg for the period between January and March 2005 but that level is only indicative and even exporters at ports have paid less than that in recent weeks.
In Ghana, the world's second biggest producer, the farmgate price is fixed and guaranteed and for the current season it is about 25 percent higher than the official Ivorian price.