Brazil suspends cocoa imports from Ivory Coast over phytosanitary risks
Unsold cocoa stocks surge as Brazil halts imports pending guarantees from Abidjan.
BRAZIL – Brazil has temporarily suspended cocoa imports from Ivory Coast, citing phytosanitary concerns linked to the origin and traceability of shipments, according to the country’s official gazette.
Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry said the measure was prompted by risks associated with “the high influx of beans from neighbouring countries into Ivory Coast,” the world’s largest cocoa producer.
The ministry warned that such inflows could allow cocoa from countries not authorized to export to Brazil to be mixed with Ivorian shipments before export.
The suspension will remain in effect until Ivory Coast formally addresses the concerns and provides assurances that its exports to Brazil do not contain cocoa produced in neighbouring countries.
The ministry stated that safeguards are required to prevent unauthorized products from entering the Brazilian market.
Ivory Coast accounted for approximately 37 percent of the 112,850 metric tons of cocoa and cocoa by-products imported by Brazil in 2025, underscoring the significance of the trade relationship between the two countries.
The import suspension comes as Ivory Coast faces mounting pressure from growing unsold cocoa stocks.
Industry experts and global trade executives estimate that the country could accumulate around 200,000 metric tons of unsold cocoa by the end of March, when the main crop season concludes, unless authorities revise state-regulated farmgate prices to encourage sales from farmers to traders.
Ivory Coast and neighbouring Ghana, which together produce roughly half of the world’s cocoa supply, are grappling with a buildup of unsold beans both inland and at ports.
The situation has developed after farmgate prices for the main crop were set last October at levels significantly above current global market prices, leaving traders facing potential losses on purchases.
As a result, international buyers have reduced purchases of Ivorian cocoa in recent months. However, local trade and government sources indicated that Ivory Coast managed to sell 200,000 tons of its upcoming April-to-September mid-crop last week to international traders.
Global cocoa prices have been heavily affected, with benchmark contracts plunging about 50 percent this year and recently hitting a near three-year low.
In January, Ivory Coast pledged to purchase 100,000 tons of unsold cocoa for about US$500 million to support unpaid farmers. However, trade executives suggest the required intervention could be larger.
Ghana last week cut its farmgate price by nearly a third, and sources indicated Ivory Coast is considering similar adjustments.
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