Official cocoa purchases in Ghana reached 775,761 tonnes by May 24 since the start of the season in October, down 11.3 percent from the 874,291 tonnes recorded in the same period a year ago, according to data from regulator Cocobod seen by Reuters on Tuesday. The purchase figures - the best indication of output from the world's second-largest cocoa grower - covered the first 32 weeks of the 33-week main crop.
Ghana grew a record over 1 million tonnes of cocoa last season, but is expected to fall well-short of that this year. Cocobod said in mid-April it may not meet a 950,000-tonne target for output this season due to dry weather that has hampered crop growth across West Africa, including in neighbouring No 1 grower Ivory Coast.While down from the same period a year ago, the purchases so far this season are running above the roughly 600,000-tonne five-year average for the period, according to Reuters data.
The main crop, which represents the lion's share of Ghana's two cycle cocoa harvest, closed on May 31 though Cocobod has given buyers up to the end of this week to register their final main crop purchases. The light crop starts in early July, with beans reserved for local grinders instead of exporters.
Total purchases for week 32 were 10,351 tonnes, up from 9,388 tonnes the week before, according to the data.A source told Reuters in April that Cocobod was investigating a 70,000-tonne discrepancy between officially recorded cocoa purchases and actual inventories, after some buyers admitted declaring their targets instead of actual beans purchased.