Can OPEC-style alliance help Ghana, Ivory Coast beat cocoa slump? [Business Africa]

Business Africa Cocoa: Ghana, Ivory Coast seek OPEC-style alliance Chocolate prices are soaring even as disillusionment sweeps through cocoa fields in west Africa. Prices have crashed nearly seventy-five percent from their peak in 2024. Now, the world's biggest producers - Ghana and Ivory Coast - are fighting back with a plan straight out of OPEC's playbook. Presidents Alassane Ouattara and John Mahama have agreed to revive what's being called the 'Cocoa OPEC', a coordinated strategy to harmonize farmgate prices and align crop calendars across both countries. They have invited Cameroon and Nigeria, the region's smaller producers, to join. The ambition is to become price makers instead of takers. Max Koffi is the founder of Equal Trade Alliance. He joins the show with insights on how African cocoa producers can maximize value and beneficiate without simply negotiating higher prices for the raw bean. Value chain: Can more local processing help beat the export trap? Africa grows the coffee and cocoa but control over the value chain is held by forces outside the continent. Experts say the answer is not begging for higher prices for raw beans. It is building local processing, brands, and distribution networks that keep the wealth on the continent. DRC-Rwanda trade resumes after border closure lifted At the border between Goma and Gisenyi, activity has rebounded after more than a month since the gates were shuttered due to ebola. The reopening of the crossings is reviving trade, banking, and transportation - all of which are essential to the local economy. 00:53 Former Ivory Coast defence minister released after 'terrorism' charges 01:02 Confirmed Ebola cases in DR Congo rise to 1,502 01:06 Accra and Pretoria at loggerheads over death of Ghanaian national 01:07 Floods kill 59 in Ivory Coast since mid-May: Government 00:37 Norway wins its 1st World Cup knockout game beating Ivory Coast 2-1 00:41 At least 12 dead in devastating Accra floods