Conseil du Café-Cacao responds to Ivory Coast cocoa export default risks
Cocoa in Ivory Coast, Cacao, La Cote D'Ivoire. Pic: ofi
The Conseil du Café-Cacao, responsible for Ivory Coast’s cocoa trade has responded to concerns over a perceived lack of crop supplies for export leading to risks of contract defaults, asserting that it believed there were sufficient stocks, reports Neill Barston.
According to its assessment of the situation, it claimed that despite there been a noted slowdown in cocoa volumes arriving at the country’s key port that resulted in some local exporters experiencing difficulties, in total, the were enough beans available to cover present order levels.
The Conseil said in a statement that it had met with stakeholders involved with export, and that it was confident that it could be resolved. It said: “On February 10, 2023, The Coffee-Cocoa Council held a routine meeting with the groups of exporters that are GEPEX for large groups, the national exporters grouped within the GNI and the exporting cooperatives led by New UCOOPEXCI. The goal was to know their difficulties and better understand the reasons for this slowdown in arrivals. This moment of exchanges during which several reasons have been cited to justify this phenomenon, has made it possible to understand that it was still too early to be alarmed.
“The Conseil du Café-Cacao would therefore like to reassure and inform all players in the cocoa sector value chain that everything is done to facilitate the supply of beans to exporters and avoid any risk of default.”
Notably, the authority added that a number of cocoa sector operators had stocked up supplies to mitigate for such circumstances, and it said it would take measures to limit purchases to ensure that the market remains as balanced as possible for those within the industry.
Furthermore, the council said it would like to reassure all operators that the commitments made for the normal course of the campaign will be respected.