Struggling Ivory Coast cocoa farmers are worried about US tariff plans

N'GATTAKRO, Ivory Coast (AP) — Jean Mari Konan Yao says he's struggling as a cocoa farmer in the west African nation of Ivory Coast, which produces almost half the world’s cocoa supply of the raw ingredient used in chocolate.

Like many in Ivory Coast — the world's biggest cocoa producer — Konan Yao says cocoa has long provided a lifeline for him, but adverse weather and plant diseases have hurt harvests in recent years.

Now, cocoa farmers worry even more over President Donald Trump’s plans to impose a 21% tariff on products from Ivory Coast — the highest among West African nations.

Although Trump has suspended the tariff plans for 90 days pending further review, authorities in Ivory Coast have warned that such tariffs could send the price of cocoa even higher and destabilize the local market by slowing their sales.

Ivory Coast produces between 2 million and 2.5 million metric tons of cocoa annually, with around 200,000 to 300,000 metric tons exported to the United States, according to the Coffee and Cocoa Council.

In 2023, Ivory Coast exported $3.68 billion worth of cocoa beans, its second biggest export after gold. The U.S. was its fourth-largest importer of cocoa beans, after the Netherlands, Malaysia and Belgium, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

For most local cocoa growers, any U.S. tariff could further shake a market already struggling with decreasing yields and shrinking funding that has limited farmers’ ability to meet global demands for chocolate.

“If we hear the American president is going to put a tax on the price of cocoa, it’s really not good for us, it doesn’t help us,” said another cocoa farmer, Salif Traoré.

Already, cocoa prices were rising in the country, in part because of insufficient and irregular rainfall in Ivory Coast.

The U.K.-based Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit research firm has noted a 32% rise in the price of cocoa imported into the United Kingdom over the last three years, partially due to extreme weather conditions in parts of Africa where it’s mainly grown. Together, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon produce about three-quarters of the world’s cocoa.

Cocoa is traded on a regulated, global market. In Ivory Coast, the government usually sets cocoa prices at the onset of each season, with prices reflecting market trends and global prices. The local prices are, however, lower than the global market rates, thereby limiting the farmers' profit from high global prices.

Authorities say they are already considering cocoa price increases if the U.S. tariff comes into effect.

“Donald Trump’s customs tax is causing us problems. We are already feeling the effects,” said Boss Diarra, coordinator of the local cocoa farmers’ union in Bouaflé in central Ivory Coast. He pointed to bags of cocoa that he said farmers have been unable to sell.

Meanwhile, a U.S. tariff could mean more cocoa for European markets, said Bruno Marcel Iritié, researcher at the Ivorian Félix Houphouët-Boigny Polytechnic Institute. Some of the top importers of Ivory Coast cocoa are in Europe, market data show.

European customers "will inevitably buy cheaper because when there is too much, the customer is king,” Iritié said.

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FILE - Cocoa pods hang on a tree in Divo, West-Central Ivory Coast, Nov. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Sophie Garcia, File)

FILE - Cocoa pods hang on a tree in Divo, West-Central Ivory Coast, Nov. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Sophie Garcia, File)

FILE - Sylvain N'goran, dries cocoa beans in the village of Bocanda, north of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Oct. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Diomande Bleblonde, File)

FILE - Sylvain N'goran, who has been a cocoa farmer for the past 17 years, holds cocoa beans in his hands in the village of Bocanda, north of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Oct. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Diomande Bleblonde, File)

FILE - Sylvain N'goran, who has been a cocoa farmer for the past 17 years, holds cocoa beans in his hands in the village of Bocanda, north of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Oct. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Diomande Bleblonde, File)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California ’s population climbed above 39.5 million in 2024, marking the second year of growth following a string of declines in the nation’s most populous state during the coronavirus pandemic.

The population rose an estimated 1%, adding 108,000 people compared to 2023, according to a report released Thursday by the Department of Finance. The increase is due in part to the number of births outpacing deaths and a boost in the number of adults 65 and older. The state said it also had better data to account for increases in legal immigration into the state from other countries.

About one in nine people living in the United States reside in California.

The Democratic governor touted the population gains as a sign of the state’s growing economy, which is one of the largest in the world. The size of the state's economy has now surpassed that of Japan, which puts it only behind the U.S. as a whole, China and Germany, Newsom's office announced last week.

“People from across the nation and the globe are coming to the Golden State to pursue the California Dream, where rights are protected and people are respected,” Newsom said in a statement. “Regions throughout California are growing, strengthening local communities and boosting our state’s future.”

But Republicans in the Democrat-dominated state and beyond have taken aim at California's population declines in the past and the loss of its residents to Texas, which previously made up the largest state-to-state movement in the U.S., according to U.S. Census data.

Critics have tied past population decreases in the Golden State to the relentless homelessness crisis and rising cost of living. California has some of the highest housing, gas and utility prices in the country.

The state also revised its estimate for legal immigration into California from other countries from 2021 to 2024 by roughly 277,000 people, citing better data. The estimated total number of legal immigrants during that period now stands at about 655,000, the Department of Finance said.

Seven of the 10 largest cities saw an increase in population in 2024, including Bakersfield and San Diego, which both grew by more than 1% to roughly 419,000 and 1.4 million, respectively. San Francisco, San Jose and Anaheim saw decreases in population by less than 0.5%.

The population rose in nine of the 10 largest counties, with Los Angeles County increasing by 28,000 compared to 2023. In Contra Costa, the state’s ninth most populous county that is part of the San Francisco Bay Area, the number of residents fell by just two dozen.

In Mono, a small county on the California-Nevada border around Yosemite National Park, the population growth rate fell by about 1.6%.

Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on X: @sophieadanna

FILE - The Los Angeles skyline is seen from a Baldwin Hills overlook, Feb. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, file)