Cocoa arrivals at ports in Ivory Coast reached around 912,000 tonnes between October 1 and April 8, exporters estimated on Tuesday, down from 927,673 tonnes the previous season.
Exporters estimated 7,000 tonnes of beans were received at the country's two ports during the week of April 1-8, the first week of the April-September mid crop, compared to 12,978 tonnes in the previous season. The just started mid crop would not reach its full momentum until the end of April, exporters said, citing delays in rains which had retarded the growth of new cocoa pods.
"We won't have big deliveries of mid-crop beans before the end of this month ... The pods have not been able to grow and ripen quickly because of the lack of rain," said the sales director of one international cocoa export company based in the western port of San Pedro.