This season, Ivory Coast, a leading cocoa producer, prevented default on export contracts by allowing multinational commodity companies to buy high-risk contracts from local exporters.

During the growing periods of 2017/18 and 2016/17, due to falling prices in the world market, local exporters did not fulfill their obligations for almost 500.00 tons of cocoa contracts that they concluded on the eve of the seasons.

In response, the Cocoa and Coffee Council (CCC) was forced to resell its contracts worth more than 300 billion CFA francs (512 million US dollars) to the government of Côte d'Ivoire.

“Unlike the previous two years, this year we avoided defaults, because CCC reacted quickly by issuing risky contracts to other exporters,” said an exporter from Abidjan.

The “Big Five” of exporters of Côte d'Ivoire's cocoa are the American agricultural group Cargill, the French Groupe Sucres et Denrees (Sucden) and Touton, Singapore's Olam and Swiss Barry Callebaut have acquired all export contracts that are potentially at risk of default, ”the sources said. CCC, wishing to remain anonymous.

As a result of such a deal, this season these five companies control 80 percent of export contracts, compared with less than 60 percent two years ago.