Exports of semi-finished cocoa products from Ivory Coast totalled 222,205 tonnes between October and July, down about 18 percent from the same period in the previous season, provisional port data showed on Wednesday. That was despite a bumper crop expected to deliver record cocoa arrivals to the top grower's two ports of Abidjan and San Pedro this season.
Which has in turn spurred an 17 percent increase in raw cocoa bean exports. Cocoa operators say the political crisis in Ivory Coast, which shut down exports for three months, brought grinding activities to a stand-still. Investments in cocoa processing facilities in Ivory Coast have pushed its share of grindings up sharply since 2008 and may soon allow it to overtake the Netherlands for the top spot. It currently has 512,000 tonnes per year grinding capacity.
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