The government of Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa producer, said Wednesday it is cutting the price paid to cocoa farmers by almost 60%, citing a sharp slowdown in sales that has strained the country’s key agricultural sector.

Agriculture Minister Bruno Kone announced the reduction to 1,200 CFA francs a kilo ($2, 1.82 euros) – which comes amid a fall in world cocoa prices and an oversupply crisis.

"The price of cocoa on the international market is forcing us to make an adjustment," Kone said.

The Ivorian government sets the price of cocoa paid to its producers twice a year. Its latest pricing announcement comes a month earlier than normal.

The sector accounts for 14% of the West African country's gross domestic product and around five million people depend on it for their living.

In October, just ahead of an election won by President Alassane Ouattara, authorities set the price at a record high of 2,800 CFA francs a kilo.

But, global cocoa prices, which went through the roof in 2024 and started to drop in 2025, have plunged this year, meaning Ivorian cocoa has recently cost much more than world market prices.

"We would all have liked a better price, but you have all followed the trend in the international price," the minister said Wednesday.