Ivory Coast cocoa bean growers say situation is getting worse
A lack of financing is seeing shipments of beans left to rot, and the problem is being worsened by the weather
Abidjan/New York — Farmers in top cocoa grower Ivory Coast say the current crop is worsening, with beans starting to rot, as lack of financing prevents them from properly fermenting and drying beans already stressed by bad weather. Front-month New York cocoa futures traded on Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) have risen nearly 15% since the start of December, mainly on worries over consistently dry weather in Ivory Coast, traders said. The conditions were brought on by seasonal harmattan winds that sweep in sand from the Sahara, which can ravage cocoa pods and sap soil moisture, leading to smaller beans. Financing of cocoa bean purchases and exports is vital to Ivory Coast, the world’s largest producer, with an annual yield of about 2-million tonnes, or about one third of the world’s cocoa. Farmers say banks that arrange financing for farmers and middlemen, known as pisteurs, who purchase beans from farmers to sell to exporters, have pulled back on funding in the wake of the bankruptc...
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