Elfenbeinküste: Die Gier nach Kakao | ARTE Reportage

The smuggling of cocoa from Ivory Coast is reaching dramatic proportions: Since the beginning of 2024 alone, criminal gangs are believed to have smuggled over 100,000 tons of cocoa into neighboring countries. As a result, the army is now patrolling the 18 Mountains District in the west of the world's largest cocoa-producing nation. Cocoa prices on the world market have skyrocketed. Even in Ivory Coast's neighboring countries, Liberia and Guinea, a kilogram of cocoa is purchased for three to five times the price in the producing country. Many smugglers therefore ignore the risk of imprisonment; they don't want to miss out on the illegal cocoa trade. They haul sacks of cocoa beans across the border by motorcycle, truck, pirogue, or on foot, as the border is rather porous and uncontrolled for hundreds of kilometers. Our reporting team was granted access to film with the Ivorian army, which, despite a shortage of men and resources, is determined to prevent its precious red-violet gold—cocoa—from leaving the country. They are also fighting for the small-scale cocoa farmers who, for decades, have lived in poverty on the margins of society in one of Ivory Coast's wealthiest regions. These farmers fear their standard of living will decline even further and feel like the real losers in the cocoa trade. ... #ivorycoast #cocoa #smuggling Video available until May 4, 2027 Link to the media library: https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/119300-... Subscribe to ARTE's YouTube channel:    / artede   Follow us on social media: Facebook:   / arte.tv   Twitter:   / artede   Instagram:   / arte.tv