A power struggle has erupted between the Minister of Agriculture, Bruno Nabagné Koné, and the head of the Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC), Yves Brahima Koné. At the heart of the dispute: transparency regarding stocks and the control of export contracts.

The management of the coffee and cocoa sector, the true economic engine of Côte d'Ivoire, is experiencing significant institutional turmoil. According to revelations by Africa Intelligence , a rift is widening between the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Production and the management of the CCC (Coffee and Cocoa Council). This conflict highlights deep disagreements regarding the reliability of official statistics and the overall governance of the sector.

The battle of the numbers: a difference of 227,000 tonnes

The main point of contention lies in the assessment of unsold cocoa stocks. Faced with doubts raised by Minister Bruno Nabagné Koné regarding the initial data, a new inventory was ordered. The results of these checks revealed a massive underestimation of the available volumes.

Source of the evaluation	Volumes of unsold cocoa recorded
Initial data from the CCC	~ 123,000 tonnes
New controls by the Ministry	over 350,000 tonnes

This dramatic discrepancy of more than 220,000 tonnes casts doubt on the effectiveness of traceability and the actual monitoring of marketing flows by the regulator.

Transparency versus networks of influence

Beyond this battle of figures, what is at stake is strategic control of the sector:

1. The ministry's offensive: Bruno Nabagné Koné is pushing for a thorough audit. He is demanding direct access to the contracts signed between the CCC and exporters in order to better regulate the allocation of volumes and sales mechanisms.
2. The resistance of the CCC: Led by Yves Brahima Koné, the Coffee-Cocoa Council is putting up some resistance to these control reforms, relying in particular on strong political support at the highest level of the State.

Situation on the ground: Despite this climate of mistrust, the operations to release the harvest are continuing. The CCC has begun allocating additional quotas to empty cooperative warehouses and facilitate market flow.

While Ivory Coast retains its position as the world's leading producer, this power struggle exposes the persistent challenges of good governance in a sector where financial interests amount to billions of CFA francs.