Consistently Inconsistent

The report analyzes the economic dependence of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire on cocoa, noting that short-term price volatility and long-term price declines threaten smallholder welfare. It compares the outcomes of market liberalization in both countries, finding that Côte d’Ivoire's complete dissolution of its stabilization fund (CAISTAB) increased producer price volatility and reduced export quality, whereas Ghana's more cautious approach via COCOBOD maintained greater stability and quality premiums. The author concludes that no single policy is sufficient and recommends a combination of state-led quality control, national price insurance, rejuvenated international coordination through the International Cocoa Agreement, and support for niche markets.

• Market liberalization has negatively impacted Ivorian cocoa producers by increasing their exposure to price volatility and eroding the quality premium of their exports following the 1999 abolition of CAISTAB.
• Ghana's COCOBOD demonstrates that a state marketing board can be streamlined to improve efficiency and transparency while still providing producer price stability and maintaining high quality standards.
• Smallholder cocoa producers lack the necessary financial resources, technical expertise, and supply aggregation capabilities to independently utilize market-based risk management tools like forward contracts.
• International efforts to stabilize world cocoa prices through the International Cocoa Agreement (ICCA) were largely ineffective due to insufficient funding, lack of member discipline, and the failure of buffer stock mechanisms.
• Compensatory finance mechanisms, such as the IMF's CFF or the EU's STABEX and FLEX, have failed to provide direct income support to individual producers, with less than 8% of EU payments reaching them directly.
• Cocoa price volatility directly harms the welfare of producing households, particularly in Ghana where producers have lower overall incomes and a higher percentage of their budget depends on cocoa.
• Alternative trade networks, such as fair trade and organic certification, provide some price stability or premiums but remain inaccessible to the vast majority of producers due to high certification costs and small market sizes.

APA

Gibson, J. (2007). Consistently Inconsistent. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_price_case_cocoa.pdf

Chicago

Gibson, Jason. Consistently Inconsistent. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2007. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_price_case_cocoa.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gibson |first1=Jason |title=Consistently Inconsistent |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=May 2007 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_price_case_cocoa.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gibson2007consistently, author = {Gibson, Jason}, title = {{Consistently Inconsistent}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2007}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_price_case_cocoa.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }