By Lincoln G. Peters
Monrovia, Liberia; October 24, 2025 – A Liberian Cocoa entrepreneur and Common Supervisor of Substantial Commerce Group of Corporations, Athanase Kintiga, is asking on the Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority and the Ministry of Commerce and Trade to ascertain a standardized pricing system for cocoa buy and export throughout the nation.
Addressing a press convention on Thursday, October 23, 2025, at his Purple Gentle, Paynesville Workplace, Mr. Kintiga mentioned the shortage of an unregulated market construction and pricing is critically affecting the cocoa sector throughout the nation.
He disclosed that cocoa merchants purchase from native farmers primarily based on worldwide market pricing, one thing he believes will, if addressed, assist sustainable improvement and the expansion of Liberia’s agriculture sector.
In accordance with him, when the worth is low on the worldwide market, they purchase in big portions, however when the market worth is excessive, demand shrinks.
He additional indicated that LACRA and the Ministry of Commerce want to offer a standardized worth for consumers.
“One of many main challenges affecting the Cocoa sector is the difficulty of unfair pricing. We purchase from the farmers primarily based on the worldwide market system construction and pricing. Now, when the worth is low, we purchase extra, and when the worth is excessive, we purchase much less. I’m interesting to LACRA and the Ministry of Commerce and Trade to provoke standardized pricing for the Cocoa sector as a result of this worldwide market pricing is killing us. When that’s completed, we consider it would create a stage taking part in area and assist us obtain extra for the sector.” He acknowledged.
In accordance with him, when LACRA and the Commerce institute honest and standardized pricing, it would assist deal with the storage challenges and farmer-buyer pricing battle presently being skilled.
He additional indicated that one other problem they face in exporting cocoa from Liberia is constructing belief with shoppers, as a result of Liberia is new to the Cocoa enterprise, in contrast to Ivory Coast, Ghana, and others which have been within the trade for a few years.
“If you wish to get a contract, they offer you a contract primarily based on what they’ve on the worldwide market, and that isn’t enriching us, as a result of we’ve our household too. We wish the fastened pricing to empower our farmers and assist us generate extra assets. Additionally, we wish the federal government to deal with highway rehabilitation nationwide, because it’s affecting us. We’re paying a number of taxes and costs, and we aren’t benefiting from something. “He lamented. Modifying by Jonathan Browne
