Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire have firmed up on their decision on the cocoa floor with a follow-up meeting in Abidjan.A statement issued after the meeting said, “Following series of engagement with key stakeholders, Cote D-Ivoire and Ghana have established a new pricing mechanism for the trading of cocoa beans which, we believe, would help provide a remunerative price for the Farmer.”The Mechanism which was introduced to industry players was understood. This system takes into consideration a fixed living income differential which would provide farmers with a decent income.”“A $400 per tonne (Living Income Differential) has been instituted to guarantee the floor price.” This means for every tonne of cocoa sold, there is an addition $400 that would go to the farmer.Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana have however promised to engage industry on issues of sustainability.Stakeholders agree on floor priceEarlier last month, Ghana and Ivory Coast succeeded in getting an agreement with global processors and marketers for the floor price of cocoa beans to be pegged at $2,600 per tonne. This followed an intensive two-day stakeholder engagement which hitherto ended in a snag on the first day in Accra.The two major cocoa producers – Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire, also agreed to “suspend the sale of the 2020/2021 cocoa beans to pave way for the implementation of the floor price”.With 65% of global production, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire are co-operating to tackle common challenges in the production and marketing of cocoa, and to create a conducive platform for effective engagement with traders, processors, manufacturers, and retailers on all relevant issues of mutual interest, including farmers’ income.There are fears that the sustenance of the new cocoa floor price could be tampered by low consumption rate of cocoa especially in Africa which accounts to just 4 per cent of global consumption rates.