Monrovia – The National Liberia Cocoa Exporters Association (NALICEA) has expressed dismay over plans by the Liberia Agricultural Commodity Regulatory (LACRA) plans to monopolize the cocoa sector. Sheik Turay, president of NALICEA, said the plan by LACRA is dangerous, unscrupulous and meant to destroy the cocoa sector. The sector has over 30,000 smallholder cocoa farmers and if the monopolization is done it will destroy the investments made in the sector over the last decade by smallholders, cooperatives, the government of Liberia and the international donor communities. He said that when LACRA came into effect a year ago, there were 17 exporters of cocoa; but that number was reduced to nine. According to him the liberalization of the cocoa sector has resulted in cocoa farmers receiving six times the price for their cocoa compared to pre-2008 prices.

Source: Front Page Africa May 02, 2019 00:56 UTC