Cocoa arrivals are rising at ports in Ivory Coast despite political tensions in the world's top grower as President Laurent Gbagbo remains in office beyond the end of his constitutional term, exporters said on Monday.
The main commercial city and cocoa-exporting port of Abidjan was calm on Monday after soldiers and riot police fired tear gas and warning shots on Sunday, when Gbagbo's mandate ended, at opposition protesters demanding he step down.
"Cocoa arrivals are now at a very satisfactory level for us, with volumes rising these past two weeks after the low levels seen at the start of the month," said the director of a leading European exporter based in Abidjan.
"For the last week of October more than 50,000 tonnes have been registered in the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro, the largest amount we've received in a single week since the start of the season," the exporter said. Exporters said they were keeping a close eye on the political situation but said it was not yet hitting business.