Cocoa arrivals at ports in Ivory Coast reached 900,000 tonnes between October 1 and March 25 as the main crop drew to a close, compared with 907,031 tonnes a year earlier, according to estimates from exporters on Monday.
Shippers said around 4,000 tonnes of beans arrived at ports in the week of March 19-25, the fourth straight week they have dipped below 5,000 tonnes. In the same week last year, arrivals in the world's largest cocoa exporter were 7,025 tonnes.
"It's the end of the season and we should not expect heavy arrivals at the ports now. We make do with what there is, and not everyone has cocoa," said one buyer for a international exporter a Abidjan. He noted that the majority of beans were already of the small, mid crop size.