New International Cocoa Agreement, 2026, enters into force on 1 October
Abidjan, 01 October 2026 -The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) marked a defining moment on the margins of the International Cocoa Council held in Abidjan from 14 to 18 September.
Four signatory countries present in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar and Togo, declared on 15 September the entry into force of the International Cocoa Agreement 2026. Nicaragua, which had already ratified the text, joined the consensus remotely from Managua. The Democratic Republic of Congo further announced the promulgation of the Act authorising ratification by its National Assembly and Senate, completing its domestic procedure.
A new chapter in a five-decade history
The 2026 Agreement is the eighth in a series of International Cocoa Agreements negotiated under UN auspices since the ICCO’s creation in 1973. Its predecessor, the International Cocoa Agreement 2010, was negotiated in Geneva and came into force provisionally in October 2012, governing a sector that today represents a market ICCO members estimate at close to 96% of world cocoa production and more than 79 % of global grindings.
The renewal comes at a pivotal moment for the industry. Between 2023 and 2025, cocoa prices surged past $10,000 per tonne, driven by a drop in the production of cocoa in the main producing countries, exposing the structural fragility of a sector on which millions of smallholder farmers depend. Against this backdrop, negotiators built the new Agreement around a clearer link between sustainability and fair remuneration for producers.
What changes with the 2026 Agreement
According to ICCO, the new Agreement reinforces the commitment of member states to the economic, environmental, and social sustainability of cocoa. Its most notable addition is the explicit recognition of the goal of ensuring a decent income for producers through fair and rewarding prices, formally tying the sector’s price stability objectives to its sustainability agenda.
“Prices and sustainability are two sides of the same coin,” ICCO noted in presenting the Agreement, underlining the intention to move beyond a purely commercial framework toward one that safeguards the livelihoods of the farming communities at the origin of the cocoa value chain.
Next steps
With entry into force secured, ICCO’s governing bodies are expected to turn to the practical implementation of the Agreement’s provisions, including continued work on market transparency, production and consumption data, and support for producer countries navigating new market requirements such as the European Union’s deforestation-related regulations.
