Ivory Coast, Ghana cocoa regulators to boycott industry meetings next week

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Ivory Coast and Ghana's cocoa regulators will boycott industry meetings in Brussels next week due to a dispute over the origin differential, or premium, for 2023/24 season contracts, officials at the regulators told Reuters.

The two countries, which together produce more than 60% of the world's cocoa, have raised their premiums for the coming season as they step up efforts to tackle farmer poverty. But they say that multinational chocolate companies are resisting paying the higher prices.

"The chief executive is not attending the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) meeting in Belgium and none of the executives at COCOBOD will be there," said Fiifi Boafo, spokesman for COCOBOD, Ghana's cocoa regulator.

Yves Brahima Kone, the director general of Ivory Coast's Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC), also said he would not be attending the WCF meeting or any other industry meetings in protest.

(Reporting by Ange Aboa; Writing by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Alexander Winning)