Average prices paid to farmers for cocoa beans in Ivory Coast were mixed during the period April 19 to 25, official data from the Coffee and Cocoa Bourse (BCC) showed on Tuesday.
Figures from the marketing body in the world's top cocoa grower showed prices remained well below the indicative price of 375 CFA francs ($0.68) per kg set by the BCC for the April to June period.
Despite the slide of the average price in the western town of Gagnoa, a farmer said some of them are rushing to sell once beans are ready so as to avoid extra losses.
"Since the start of this season farmers have been aware of a steady decline in prices. Today's price is usually higher than tomorrow's," said the farmer, also noting there was less buyer interest in the mid-crop than in the main crop.
A co-operative manager in the eastern town Abengourou, near the Ghanian border, said most farmers in the region were smuggling their beans to the neighbouring country because of higher prices there.
"Buyers pay about 250 CFA francs per kg in the region, while in Ghana farmers receive around 450 CFA francs per kg. You can make your choice quickly when it's a choice between those two prices," the co-operative manager said.
One analyst based in the western area of Daloa, which produces a quarter of Ivory Coast's cocoa output, said a rise in prices there was due a slight increase in competition for beans.
The May cocoa futures contract in London added 14 pounds to 805 pounds a tonne during the period.
The BCC said on April 14 that cocoa arrivals at ports in Ivory Coast had reached 1,077,053 tonnes by March 31, outpacing arrivals from the same period a year earlier.
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