Ivory Coast Stops Cocoa Grinding Tax Incentive to Meet IMF Goal

A tax incentive announced in 2016 to enable cocoa grinders to build capital and expand capacity has been stopped by Ivory Coast as it moves to meet revenue goals under an International Monetary Fund program, dealing a blow to foreign companies that make up the majority of domestic processing.

Exporters had to pay higher excise taxes for overseas sales of beans. The duty for processing the commodity locally into cocoa products or chocolate itself was lower at between 13.2% and zero percent. That has recently ended and the government now requires all companies in the cocoa value chain to pay ...