Cocoa arrivals at ports in Ivory Coast from October 1, 2006 to September 2, 2007 reached 1,196,272 tonnes, compared with 1,334,215 tonnes received in the same period last year, exporters said on Monday. The figures showed 12,283 tonnes arrived at ports from August 27 to September 2, up from 8,752 tonnes in the same period of the 2005/06 season.
Deliveries of beans to the West African state's two ports are rising steadily as the first pods from the October-March main crop are harvested and sold - weeks ahead of the official start to the season thanks to abundant rainfall.
Exporters said arriving beans were of the chunkier kind, characteristic of the main crop season and although these are more desireable for processing, some shippers said quality overall was often poor and many beans were unsellable.
"For the moment what's most notable is the very poor quality of beans arriving from the bush. There are many mouldy beans and that means the volume we're receiving, even if it appears good, isn't of much use," he said.
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