Ivory Coast cocoa prices mixed

Average cocoa prices paid to farmers in Ivory Coast were mixed in the week of August 2-8 with supply shortages pushing prices higher in some areas and poor quality hitting prices elsewhere.
Jacques N'Zi, a local private buyer in Soubre, said bad weather during the period had a negative effect on the quality of cocoa there, which was hitting farmgate prices.
"The weather is cloudy here, and there is no sunshine. It is difficult to dry the beans properly and they are quite small - around 120 to 140 beans per 100 grams," he said.
Further south, in the coastal town of San Pedro, a private Lebanese buyer, Lakiss Ali, said the scarcity of beans in the region was pushing prices higher.
Cocoa prices in the London market fell during the week with benchmark December futures losing 23 pounds to reach 938 pounds per tonne.