Ivorian cocoa prices extend gains

Cocoa farm-gate prices in Ivory Coast's main growing regions rose to around 750 CFA francs ($1.49) per kg last week, boosted by worries about the size of the harvest, farmers and exporters said on Thursday.
Prices have risen in the bush in recent weeks, in step with benchmark London prices, which rose to a 24-year high this week, partly on fears that the Ivorian crop, the world's biggest, will fall short of earlier expectations. In the western region of Soubre, at the heart of the cocoa belt, the average price rose by 15 CFA francs per kg to 725 francs last week, with farmers reporting stiff competition among buyers.