Ghana will produce more cocoa in the 2013/14 season than previously expected, with its main crop harvest now estimated at 850,000 tonnes against a pre-season forecast of 830,000 on improved weather, the deputy head of its Cocobod regulator said. Kwabena Asante Poku, in charge of operations at Cocobod, said the regulator had revised its target for the October-May main crop based on recommendations by researchers following field visits.
"Our men have just returned from the field and based on their findings, we have revised (upwards) the main crop mainly on improved weather which is boosting the crop size in addition to beans quality," Poku told Reuters. The latest data seen by Reuters showed purchases declared since the start of the season in October to February 6 were 658,539 tonnes, up 14.6 pct from year-ago.
Ghana, the world's second-largest producer after Ivory Coast, also plans to raise $1.8 billion in syndicated loans to fund purchases of beans in the 2014/2015 cocoa harvest, Cocobod officials told Reuters. The board signed a $1.2 billion loan from a consortium of international lenders last September.