Cocoa exporters in Ivory Coast said on Wednesday a deepening political crisis in the world's top grower meant they were shipping beans out of the country as quickly as possible to avoid losses in case of trouble.
"Right now, there is a rush to ship the cocoa out. Everybody wants to export even the smallest quantity of cocoa that is ready to go," said the director of a leading British exporter in the main city Abidjan.
"We are avoiding having stocks in Ivory Coast. All the cocoa that is bought is immediately exported...it is above all a quality issue because if there is trouble, the quality of the stocks risks deteriorating," he added.
Political tension is rising in the West African country, which has been split in two by a 2002 civil war and has seen a series of peace initiatives collapse.
Rebels holding the north of the country and President Laurent Gbagbo have radicalised their stance over the past few weeks and mediators seem to have run out of ideas on how to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.
Gbagbo said on Tuesday it was clear that a presidential election scheduled for October 30 will not take place on time and said he had no intention of stepping down to pave the way for a transition - as the rebels, who have so far refused to disarm, demand.
The country's two ports are in the government-held south and the conflict has not affected cocoa exports in the past - Ivory Coast produced a record harvest in the year the civil war broke out. But shippers said they were taking no chances, fearing the political impasse could trigger street violence or a military showdown at a crucial time for the 2005/06 campaign - which officially opens on October 1.
An official working at Abidjan port for the Coffee and Cocoa Bourse (BCC), the producer-led marketing body, said that unlike previous years there had been no significant cocoa stocks at the port since August.
The position was similar in the south-western port of San Pedro. "We are at a crucial stage of the buying season between October and December and unfortunately that is coinciding with a period of high political tension and uncertainty," said an exporter based there.