Cocoa arrivals at ports in Ivory Coast reached about 55,000 tonnes during the first three weeks of September, indicating a strong flow ahead of the October 1 start of the 2005/06 cocoa season, exporters said on Monday.
This compared with 30,000 tonnes delivered to ports during September last season. Buyers and exporters in the world's largest cocoa producer said they expected about 70,000 tonnes for the whole month.
"We received an unusually large volume of cocoa at the ports during the first three weeks of September," one exporter at the south-western San Pedro port told Reuters.
"About 30,000 tonnes have already arrived and we expect another 10,000 tonnes by the end of the month."
A source in Abidjan said they had received around 25,000 tonnes of beans from the new main crop so far and expected another 5,000 tonnes by the end of the month.