Ivory Coast faces a mounting cocoa crisis with 200,000 metric tons of unsold beans from the main crop堆积 inland and at ports. The pileup stems from the government setting farmgate prices last October well above collapsing global markets, which have plunged 50% this year, leaving traders facing immediate losses on purchases.

This pricing disconnect has paralyzed sales from farmers to international traders, creating a cash crunch for producers. In a bid to provide relief, the Ivorian government pledged to buy 100,000 tons itself at a cost of about $500 million. However, global trading executives warn the actual unsold volume is far larger, with local buyers already defaulting on at least 100,000 tons and another 100,000 tons of main-crop beans yet to be sold.

Neighboring Ghana, which jointly produces half the world's supply, last week slashed its farmer price by almost a third after payment delays. Ivory Coast's regulator, the Coffee and Cocoa Council, disputes the 200,000-ton estimate as "erroneous" but the agriculture minister has announced an earlier-than-usual mid-crop price decision by month's end, signaling a likely correction toward Ghana's lower level.