COTE d’Ivoire has suspended five senior officials accused of facilitating cocoa smuggling across the western border, according to an army statement seen by Reuters earlier this week.
An estimated 50,000 to 75,000 metric tonnes of cocoa beans have been trafficked to Guinea and Liberia since the start of the 2024/25 season in October, exporters and buyers told Reuters. The suspended officials, stationed in the border town of Sipilou, include the town’s prefect, police commissioner, army detachment head, gendarmerie commander, and customs chief.
Authorities implicated in smuggling
Investigations revealed that significant amounts of cocoa were illegally transported into Guinea during the holiday season in December, reportedly with the assistance of corrupt officials tasked with preventing such trafficking. Industry sources said that smugglers paid bribes averaging CFA15 million ($23,500) per trailer truck—each capable of carrying up to 40 tonnes of cocoa—to avoid detection.
Cocoa traffickers in Guinea have been offering prices between CFA4,000 and CFA5,000 per kilogram—more than double Cote d’Ivoire’s official farmgate price of CFA1,800—due to surging global cocoa prices.
‘In Sipilou, Danané, Man, and Ouaninou—key trafficking hotspots—everyone knows corrupt local authorities have been enabling smuggling, but the money involved is simply too high to stop it,’ said Daouda Doumbia, a cocoa supply chain tracker in Cote d’Ivoire’s Tonkpi Region.
Smuggling disrupts cocoa exports
Drissa Konate, a cocoa buyer in Ouaninou, claimed he witnessed dozens of trailer trucks from Séguéla crossing into Guinea between October 2024 and January 2025.
‘Honestly, the profits from smuggling are too tempting, and I don’t see how authorities will curb it,’ he said, pointing to the higher prices offered just across the border.
Exporters are already feeling the impact, with declining cocoa deliveries to ports.
‘This crackdown is a step in the right direction, but it comes too late,’ said an export executive, reflecting concerns about the long-term effects of widespread smuggling on the country’s cocoa industry.
Cote d’Ivoire, the world’s top cocoa producer, has long battled illegal cocoa exports, with smuggling driven by price disparities and weak border enforcement. The recent suspensions signal a tougher stance from the government, but whether they will curb the illicit trade remains to be seen.
