Africa-Press – Liberia. By Lincoln G. Peters
Monrovia, Liberia; October 24, 2025 – A Liberian Cocoa entrepreneur and General Manager of Substantial Trade Group of Companies, Athanase Kintiga, is calling on the Liberia Agriculture Commodity Regulatory Authority and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to establish a standardized pricing system for cocoa purchase and export across the country.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, October 23, 2025, at his Red Light, Paynesville Office, Mr. Kintiga said the lack of an unregulated market structure and pricing is seriously affecting the cocoa sector across the country.
He disclosed that cocoa traders buy from local farmers based on international market pricing, something he believes will, if addressed, help sustainable development and the growth of Liberia’s agriculture sector.
According to him, when the price is low on the international market, they buy in huge quantities, but when the market price is high, demand shrinks.
He further indicated that LACRA and the Ministry of Commerce need to give a standardized price for buyers.
“One of the major challenges affecting the Cocoa sector is the issue of unfair pricing. We buy from the farmers based on the international market system structure and pricing. Now, when the price is low, we buy more, and when the price is high, we buy less. I am appealing to LACRA and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to initiate standardized pricing for the Cocoa sector because this international market pricing is killing us. When that is done, we believe it will create a level playing field and help us achieve more for the sector.” He stated.
According to him, when LACRA and the Commerce institute fair and standardized pricing, it will help address the storage challenges and farmer-buyer pricing conflict currently being experienced.
He further indicated that another challenge they face in exporting cocoa from Liberia is building trust with clients, because Liberia is new to the Cocoa business, unlike Ivory Coast, Ghana, and others that have been in the industry for many years.
“If you want to get a contract, they give you a contract based on what they have on the international market, and that is not enriching us, because we have our family too. We want the fixed pricing to empower our farmers and help us generate more resources. Also, we want the government to focus on road rehabilitation nationwide, as it’s affecting us. We are paying lots of taxes and fees, and we are not benefiting from anything. “He lamented.
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