Cocoa arrivals at ports in Ivory Coast reached 798,959 tonnes between October 1, 2004 and February 6, 2005, according to an estimate by major exporters on Wednesday. That compared with 903,722 tonnes delivered to ports during the same period of the 2003/04 season, industry data showed. The exporters' figures showed that 29,542 tonnes arrived at ports between February 1 and February 6. Guillaume Badou, assistant to the financial director of cocoa exporter Delbau, said the firm's activity had slowed as the supply of beans dried up.
"Arrivals have fallen sharply. We are bringing in 30 tonnes a day (in total) at our three warehouses when it's usually between 250 and 300 tonnes at this time of year," he said.
"There isn't much left in the bush and we are now waiting for the mid-crop to get going," he said.