Burkina Faso Growers Reduce Price Demands

By Jim.Robinson|May 26, 2011

As the critical rainy season begins in Burkina Faso, cotton growers in sub-Saharan Africa’s largest fiber producer have backed off of their demands that the government double the set price. The farmers still seek a price higher than the one offered by government officials, however, as well as a reduction in the cost of fertilizer.

As Cotton International reported earlier this month (Burkina Faso Growers Union Negotiating with Government, May 5), cotton farmers in Burkina Faso originally sought a price of $1.12/kg for their cotton and threatened to boycott the entire season if their demands weren’t met (barely one week earlier, government officials raised the set price by 35 percent to 46.2 cents/kg).

With the rains starting and the “point of no return” approaching rapidly, however, growers reduced their demands to 47.2 cents/kg, combined with a reduction in the per-bag cost of fertilizer from $3,388 to $2,795.

Laurent Sedogo, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Agriculture, said farmers need to begin production before it’s too late, and promised that the government would continue to work with them to find common ground. He added that the reduction in the cost of fertilizer would cost the government almost $1.8 billion.