Consistently Inconsistent: Addressing income volatility among cocoa producers in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire

The first in a series of seven case studies examining national responses to the commodity price problem, this paper focuses on the effects of cocoa price volatility on national and household incomes in Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire.

Despite being geographical neighbours, Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire have pursued divergent cocoa production and export policies over the past two decades. Using their respective successes and failures as a starting point, this case study recommends several policy options for national and international policy makers to help stabilize cocoa-related incomes in the face of highly volatile cocoa prices on the world market.