Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast reached around 256,000 tonnes by November 15, exporters estimated on Monday, compared with 161,554 tonnes in the same period of the previous season. Exporters estimated around 48,000 tonnes of beans were delivered to the West African state's two ports between November 9 and 15, up from 38,716 tonnes in the same week a year ago.
The run-up to the 2009/10 growing season, which began in October, was shrouded in concern that the output would be at best level with the poor 2008/09 season but arrivals are so far well above last year's levels.
"This is a good weekly volume as we are getting near 50,000 tonnes," said the manager of an European cocoa exporting company. Earlier on Monday, farmers said that abundant rain across the main cocoa growing regions last week would help the main crop develop and sustain a robust output into the new year. Despite general satisfaction over the weekly arrival tally, some exporters had expected the 50,000 tonne-per week mark to have already been broken. "The lowering of (cocoa) prices is the reason for the slowing down in the purchases. If this had not happened, we would have already gone past 50,000 tonnes," the exporter added.
Farmers told Reuters last week up-country cocoa prices had been holding firm at just under 1,000 CFA francs ($2.28) per kilo, but exporters said on Monday they had fallen off by at least 100 CFA, which was contributing to lower sales. Concerns over supply from Ivory Coast have helped keep prices near multi-decade highs in New York and London this year but futures have also fallen off their peaks.
March cocoa on ICE was trading at $3,160 per tonne at 1518 GMT on Monday while March cocoa on London's Liffe was trading at 2,068 pounds per tonne. Another Abdijan-based exporter said he was also keeping an eye on the impact of international and local cocoa prices on up-country purchases and subsequent port deliveries but, for now, the quality was good.