Ivory Coast will cap cocoa production at 2 million tonnes from next year to bolster prices, a government official said as the 2019-20 season got under way on Tuesday.

The world's largest cocoa producer, which is estimated to have produced about 2.2 million tonnes last season, had flagged that it planned to limit output in coordination with neighbouring Ghana to contend with an oversupplied market. The two countries produce about 60 per cent of the world’s cocoa.

It was not clear exactly how the government plans to monitor production from Ivory Coast’s thousands of small, independent farms, given previous struggles to stamp out illegal cocoa farming and smuggling.

However, Tuesday’s announcement contained the first official mention of a specific production limit and marks a new stage in protecting revenues in West African countries.

“Our goal is to control our production,” said Yves Brahima Kone, head of the Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) on Tuesday. “If you produce too much, the price will go down.”

CCC also said it had raised the new price it pays cocoa farmers to 825 CFA francs per kg for the 2019-20 main crop harvest, up from 750 CFA francs last season.

Ghana Cocoa Board also raised its price to 8,240 cedis ($1,528) a tonne for the 2019-20 main crop, up from 7,600 cedis last season.

Ivorian and Ghanaian farmers have complained about low prices in the past but said they were happy with the new level.

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