Fairtrade International says sales of Fairtrade-certified cocoa from Côte d’Ivoire in the fourth quarter of 2019 increased farmers’ earnings by approximately $15.1 million compared to non-Fairtrade cocoa.

Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire have agreed to institute a per-tonne “living income differential” as part of a new payment structure designed to fortify incomes of the countries’ cocoa producers.

Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire have suspended pre-sales of the 2020-2021 season cocoa crop as the governments work to institute a base price for cocoa from those countries.

Fairtrade International is raising the prices it will pay for conventional and organic cocoa next fall after world cocoa prices dropped by more than a third last year.