“The volatility of global prices is one of the reasons it’s so difficult for farmers to plan ahead and make the necessary investments to adopt more sustainable and resilient farming methods that protect their incomes into the future," says Carla Veldhuyzen van Zanten, senior advisor of sustainable livelihoods at Fairtrade International. “The new cocoa Living Income Reference Prices reflect the latest data and inputs from all sides of the cocoa industry, so we are confident these prices can take us collectively forward from talk about the importance of living incomes, to concrete action.”

Consultation process brings market perspectives and farmer realities together

Fairtrade last updated these prices in January 2025, which reportedly led to an intense dialogue with key cocoa industry stakeholders about the model and figures on which the price calculations were based. Engaging companies, producers, civil society, research institutes, and advocates, Fairtrade conducted a year-long consultation to evaluate its model and ensure it continues to address real world needs and challenges effectively.

Over that period, global cocoa prices fell from peaks of more than $10,000 per tonne in late 2024 to around $3,400 per tonne in April 2026. This means farmers are even more vulnerable than they were a year ago.

The review process analyzed farmer realities and the suitability of the reference prices to support closing the gap to a living income.

“I am pleased to have taken part in the process of determining the new Living Income Reference Price, which I consider to be a robust process,” says Yesson Moussa Yeo, managing director of Yeyasso, a Fairtrade cocoa cooperative in Côte d’Ivoire. “It enabled all stakeholders, particularly producers, to express themselves and collectively contribute to shaping the system’s direction. This participatory approach strengthens transparency, reduces disputes, and builds trust across the market.”

He added that the LIRP cannot be disconnected from on-the-ground realities and that factors such as farm size, family labour, the impacts of climate change, and the rate of adoption of good agricultural practices must always be taken into account to define a price that truly reflects the conditions required to earn a decent living from cocoa. “A realistic price only has an impact if it is stable. The stability of this price is essential to enable producers and their organizations to plan and invest over the long term,” he said.

The new reference prices are well above the current regulated farmgate prices, which had dropped dramatically earlier this year at the beginning of the mid-crop. The new Ivorian Living Income Reference Price value is 558 CFA francs (47%) higher than the current Ivorian farmgate price of 1,200 CFA francs per kilo. The new Ghanaian Living Income Reference Price is four cedi (10%) higher than the current Ghanaian farmgate price of 41.40 cedi.

Reference prices as one element of a holistic living income approach gaining traction with companies

Living income is the income needed for a decent standard of living, which includes a nutritious diet, clean water, decent housing, education, health care, and other essential needs, plus a little extra for emergencies and savings. Living Income Reference Prices indicate the price a typical farmer household needs to earn a living income share in proportion to their time dedicated to cocoa (from the sales of their crop).

Living Income Reference Prices are designed to be used alongside other measures, such as support for implementing good agricultural practices and diversifying income sources, especially if the farm area is small.

Fairtrade is developing a customizable living income program with options for companies to invest in specific living income building blocks in addition to paying the reference price, such as productivity improvement, climate resilience, and income diversification. Several European retailers, including Action, Marks & Spencer, Lidl, and Superunie, have already made commitments.

Cocoa was the first product for which Fairtrade developed a Living Income Reference Price, back in 2018. In fact, the volume of Fairtrade cocoa sold at a Living Income Reference Price has tripled since 2019, increasing by 60 percent since the 2023/2024 season alone (from almost 20,000 to nearly 32,000 metric tonnes). Commitments for the next two years (2026–2027) are set to reach almost 48,000 tonnes, which represents another 50% increase.

Fairtrade International continues to invest time and resources in advancing living incomes and reference pricing as part of its focus on sustainable livelihoods, it says, and plans to develop a cocoa Living Income Reference Price for Peru, which is expected in early 2027.

The full details are available in Explanatory note: Cocoa Living Income Reference Prices for Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, 2026.

Related: Fairtrade boosts support for cocoa farmers