Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ABIDJAN618
2009-10-22 06:40:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Abidjan
Cable title:  

NEW COCOA SEASON: WHAT'S CHANGED, WHAT HASN'T,

Tags:  EAGR ECON EFIN IV 
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P 220640Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5468
INFO ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L ABIDJAN 000618 


E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/16/2019
TAGS: EAGR ECON EFIN IV
SUBJECT: NEW COCOA SEASON: WHAT'S CHANGED, WHAT HASN'T,
WHAT MIGHT

REF: (A) 2008 ABIDJAN 657 (B) 2008 ABIDJAN 403
(C) 2008 ABIDJAN 893 (D) ABIDJAN 401


Classified By: POL/ECON Chief for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABIDJAN 000618


E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/16/2019
TAGS: EAGR ECON EFIN IV
SUBJECT: NEW COCOA SEASON: WHAT'S CHANGED, WHAT HASN'T,
WHAT MIGHT

REF: (A) 2008 ABIDJAN 657 (B) 2008 ABIDJAN 403
(C) 2008 ABIDJAN 893 (D) ABIDJAN 401


Classified By: POL/ECON Chief for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (U) Summary. October 1 marked the official start of Cote
d'Ivoire's 2009-2010 cocoa season. Experts expect
this year's output to be the same as or somewhat less than
last year's. In keeping with recommendations of the
international financial institutions (IFIs),the Cocoa and
Coffee Sector Management Committee lowered taxes on cocoa
for the season. Nevertheless, the Committee, which has been
playing a care-taker management role for the past year
(ref A),followed past practice by setting an "indicative"
price. On October 15, the Cocoa and Coffee Sector Reform
Committee submitted to President Gbagbo its recommendations
on restructuring the cocoa sector, which we are told may
advocate for an expanded government role. End summary.


2. (U) October 1 is the official date marking a new cocoa
harvest cycle. While cocoa beans are harvested year-round,
the vast majority are harvested in the six-month period
beginning October 1.


3. (U) In the 2008-2009 season Cote d'Ivoire produced
approximately 1.2 million metric tons of cocoa, a decrease of
14 percent from the previous year. According to press
reports, experts believe Cote d'Ivoire's 2009-2010 crop will
probably not exceed last year's. The sector continues to
suffer from neglect, with productivity and quality declining
each year. Supply is further diminished as farmers switch to
less labor-intensive and more lucrative crops, such as rubber
or palm oil.


4. (U) In keeping with IFI recommendations, the Management
Committee announced a reduction in cocoa taxes for this
season. The cocoa export tax (known as the "DUS," or "droit
unique de sortie") is now CFA 210 (USD 0.48) per kilo, down
from CFA 220 (USD 0.50) per kilo. Additionally, the
Management Committee reduced the tax used to finance cocoa
agencies, revenue that in theory should be invested in the
sector: last season the tax was 10 percent of the price;
this year it is 5 percent. One of the "triggers" of the
GOCI's Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
program is a reduction of total cocoa taxes to 22 percent of

the CIF (cost, insurance, and freight) price. In the
2008-2009 season the overall rate was approximately 32
percent. The IFIs believe a decrease in the tax burden will
increase farmer income and help address Cote d'Ivoire's 49
percent poverty rate.


5. (SBU) In one of the rituals preserved from the days in
which the GOCI fixed cocoa prices, the Management
Committee--established in September 2008 to fill the void
created by the imprisonment of key cocoa officials (ref
B)--announced an "indicative" farmgate price for cocoa beans.
The announced price is CFA 950 (USD 2.16) per kilo--a record
high. Last year the indicative price was CFA 700 per kilo.
As noted in ref C, the reasoning behind the establishment of
an "indicative" price is supposedly to send a signal to
farmers regarding the price they should use as a basis for
bargaining with buyers in the field. Yet the Management
Committee has no authority to enforce the "indicative price."
The actual price is set in thousands of individual
transactions between buyers and farmers in the field. In
most cases, given their limited financial means and their
inability to store beans for extended periods, farmers have
very little bargaining power. In fact, press reports
indicate that the average price paid at the farmgate in the
last 10 days of September was only CFA 560. One might
interpret the establishment of a high indicative price as an
acknowledgment that this year's crop may be smaller than last
year's. (Demand for cocoa generally grows rather steadily,
tracking world economic growth very closely.) But the high
price is likely the result of political factors, as the
country awaits presidential elections. By setting a high
indicative price, the GOCI seems to be encouraging farmers
to believe that they deserve a higher price--if only buyers
would pay more.


6. (C) On October 15 the Reform Committee, whose members were
named April 30 (ref D),submitted to President Gbagbo its
proposals on cocoa and coffee sector reform. At Gbagbo's
direction, the Committee gave the document to World Bank
staff for review and comment prior to submitting it to the
head of state. Although we have not seen the "confidential"
document, World Bank country director Madani Tall recently
told the Ambassador that the plan he reviewed was a throwback
to the days of centrally controlled sectors. Tall hoped to
convince the GOCI to modernize its approach and incorporate
more market principles into their reform proposals. Embassy
is not sure whether the plan given to Gbagbo on October 15
differs markedly from the one World Bank staff saw, but we
suspect it still calls for a much-expanded role for the GOCI
or for a government-regulated private monopoly that could
pre-sell much of the harvest each year and guarantee farmers
a set price each season. The Reform Committee Chair,
Geraldine Odehouri, was quoted in the local press as saying
"pursuant to the head of state's recommendations, the farmer
is at the heart of this reform."

7.(SBU) As noted in ref D, farmers generally believe an
increase in government involvement is needed, and do not
support further "liberalization" of the sector. This
perspective stems, in large part, from the fact that most
cocoa producers in remote areas are unable to transport their
product to market and are obliged to sell to Lebanese truck
operators who, for a variety of reasons, generally do not pay
farmers the indicative price set by the government. Many
cocoa farmers do not understand the dynamics of the cocoa
market, but they do know that their income is (in real terms)
lower than it used to be, and they believe the GOCI should be
responsible for ensuring they get higher, more stable prices.


8. (SBU) Comment. The Management Committee's change of the
cocoa tax structure is the most recent evidence that the
HIPC program has been effective in influencing GOCI policy.
Yet it is unclear to what extent farmers vis-a-vis
other market participants will benefit from the lower taxes.
Nevertheless, lowering taxes in an election year is
not an exceptionally difficult step, and the Gbagbo regime
probably bears some responsibility for the Management
Committee's establishment of a record-high indicative price.


9. (SBU) Any serious reform of the cocoa sector will impact
revenue currently being enjoyed by Gbagbo supporters. It is
therefore unlikely that the president will push hard for
potentially painful reforms to be carried out until the
presidential election is over. This may not be difficult.
The Reform Committee's original deadline for submitting its
report was July 30. But in a pattern well known to Ivorians,
submission of the report--only one step in the reform
process--took place almost three months late. Still, as with
elections, the wait will be worthwhile if it results in a
better system for managing the cocoa sector.


NESBITT