Cocoa arrivals at ports in Ivory Coast reached 113,664 tonnes between October 1 and 23, 2005, according to an estimate by major exporters on Thursday.
That compared with 28,565 tonnes delivered to ports during the same period in the 2004/05 season, industry data showed. The figures showed that 44,591 tonnes arrived at ports between October 17-23.
Buyers said farmers who had been stockpiling beans in the hope that prices would improve were starting to sell before the quality of their stocks fell.
"Producers are beginning to get cocoa out of the bush because prices are not rising significantly and the quality of the beans is deteriorating as they are badly stocked," said one US buyer in Abidjan.
"The level of arrivals should be even higher in the next few days because beans are really starting to come out of the bush," the buyer said.