Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast reached 1,170,896 tonnes by September 19 since the start of the season in October, according to data from the official marketing body BCC obtained by Reuters on Friday. That was up from the 1,161,198 tonnes that arrived in the same period a year ago, according to the data.
The figures showed 20,087 tonnes of beans arrived at the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro between September 6 and September 19, compared with 12,907 tonnes in the same week a year ago. Ivory Coast’s cocoa season ends at the end of September, and could top last year’s total 1.22 million tonnes.
But cocoa experts have said Ivory Coast’s arrivals – the best representation of the country’s output – may overstate real production by as much as 100,000 tonnes due to smuggling from Ghana where prices are lower. Ghana finished its 2009-10 cocoa season September 9 with a 12 percent deficit in official purchases, with the government blamining illicit flows across the border.
Together, Ivory Coast and Ghana make up two-thirds of global supply of the main ingredient in chocolate. Ivory Coast’s cocoa sector has suffered declines in recent years due to a lack of investment in plantations since a 2002-03 civil war, and a lacklustre crop last season helped push cocoa futures to 30-year highs.
Analysts say there is some hope of much-needed upgrades to Ivory Coast’s cocoa sector if the country follows through with elections October 31, and add that West African production as a whole could rise during the 2010-11 season due to ambitious production targets from Ghana.
Despite the long-awaited announcement of an election date for 31 October, key issues remain unresolved. And while a younger generation Read more
