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Ivory Coast intensifies support for cocoa exporters

Published

3 months ago

August 24, 2024

According to two government sources on Friday, the government of Ivory Coast would provide extra assistance to small local cocoa exporters to enable them to more than quadruple their yearly purchasing volumes.

Ivorian exporters must contend with financially stable foreign competitors, as they have been unable to obtain funding from local banks due to financial issues.

The world’s largest producer of cocoa, Ivory Coast, produced 2.2 million tonnes of beans on average over the previous three years, with large multinational corporations handling about 80% of imports and exports.

The government will provide small exporters with subsidies of 10 billion CFA francs ($16.75 million) annually for the next four years, starting in October, when the new cocoa season begins. This will enable them to boost their purchases to 500,000 metric tonnes.

In the past, the government awarded about 3 billion CFA francs annually. This quantity made it possible for cooperatives and exporters to purchase and sell cocoa beans, enabling them to export between 150,000 and 200,000 tonnes annually.

“Our aim is to have national champions in the cocoa sector in order to increase their purchasing volumes, which represent less than 10% of our annual production,” said one of the sources, who works in the prime minister’s office.

According to the second source, a Ministry of Agriculture official, banks should be more inclined to lend money to small exporters because of this funding because they will be more stable financially.

Additionally, it must offer additional assistance as the European Union is ready to impose new rules on the import of goods connected to deforestation, which would intensify rivalry among exporters.

Although the subsidy was a kind gesture, the government needs to do more to make Ivorian businesses competitive with other exporters, according to Yves Brahima Kone, managing director of the Ivory Coast Coffee and Cocoa Council, the country’s regulatory body, who spoke with Reuters.

“If the government wants to achieve this goal, it will need to provide greater, more substantial and sustainable financial support. It’s possible, but it will require a larger subsidy,” Kone said.

Related Topics:coacoa Featured Ivory Coast

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IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

16 minutes ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.