Ivory Coast Cocoa Farmers Strike as Unsold Beans Pile Up
- Some growers belonging to three groups protest lack of sales
- Exporters have slowed purchases as pandemic hurts demand
An cocoa plantation near Sinfra, Ivory Coast.
Photographer: Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images
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Some Ivory Coast cocoa farmers started a strike on Monday to protest against a lack of bean sales, adding to questions over how the government will support the industry in the world’s top grower.
Many of the nation’s 800,000 farmers have struggled to sell beans as the Covid-19 crisis stifled confectionery demand and led exporters to slow purchases. That’s prompted growers belonging to three organizations to embark on an indefinite peaceful strike, said Germain Koffi, secretary general of farmers’ group Anaproci, which is part of the protest and says it has about 600,000 members. It wasn’t clear how many are striking.