Togo’s government has fixed farmgate prices for the 2026-27 cocoa and coffee campaign at CFA2,240 per kg for cocoa and CFA1,300 per kg for coffee, equivalent to about £2.80/$3.70 per kg and £1.65/$2.15 per kg respectively. The new campaign launched on 1 October 2026, following a price-fixing ceremony held on 4 September 2026 in Kpalimé, presided over by minister of economy and strategic oversight Badanam Patoki.
The ceremony was organised by the Coffee-Cocoa Coordination Committee, known by its French acronym CCFCC, which sets annual farmgate prices in consultation with producers and exporters ahead of each new campaign. Fixing prices before the season begins gives farmers clarity on what they will be paid before they commit their harvest to the official marketing system rather than alternative buyers.
That clarity matters more than usual this year. The 2025-26 season saw a sharp contraction in Togo’s official coffee and cocoa exports, with coffee volumes falling from 4,400 tonnes to 2,600 tonnes and cocoa exports dropping from 24,000 tonnes to 8,900 tonnes, a decline of 64%. A separate report attributed the collapse to unregistered operator activity and smuggling in production zones, which diverted crops away from official marketing channels.
A price response to a smuggling problem
The scale of last season’s decline, particularly the 64% drop in cocoa exports, points to a structural problem rather than a one-off shortfall. When unregistered buyers can offer farmers prices that compete with, or exceed, the official farmgate rate, produce is diverted away from the channels that Togo’s government can track, tax, and promote internationally, undermining the official campaign even if total production has not necessarily fallen by the same margin.
Setting the 2026-27 prices at CFA2,240 per kg for cocoa and CFA1,300 per kg for coffee is, in that context, a direct policy lever aimed at keeping farmers within the official system. Whether the new rates are competitive enough to outbid unregistered buyers will become clear only once the campaign is underway and export volumes for the new season begin to emerge.
Stakes for Togo’s coffee and cocoa farmers
For farmers, a fixed and publicised price offers a baseline they can plan around, something that becomes more valuable precisely when alternative, unofficial buyers are active in production zones. The involvement of the CCFCC and a minister-level ceremony to announce the prices also signals the government’s intent to treat the smuggling problem as a priority for the new campaign, rather than a side issue to be managed quietly.
With the new campaign now underway since 1 October, the real test of this year’s price-setting will be whether export volumes recover toward their pre-2025-26 levels, or whether unregistered trade continues to draw cocoa and coffee away from Togo’s official channels regardless of the price on offer.
