Cocoa
News - 2004
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Cocoa bag tax - 08/11/04
Nigeria's import tax waiver for hydrocarbon-free jute bags currently granted
to the country's cocoa industry is to be removed next year. Since 1999,
Abuja had waived the 35% import duty.
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Ghana anticipates record crop - 01/11/04
Ghanaian cocoa officials believe that the country's forthcoming 2004/05 crop
will at least match last season's record high of 700,000 tonnes and could
exceed it. According to the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod), the 2003/04 crop
totalled 736,000 tonnes, which was a huge increase from the 497,000 tonnes
recorded in 2002/03. This was largely due to government initiatives, such
as subsidised pesticides, seedlings and farm husbandry training, that boosted
yields.
Accra said that around 1.7m hectares of cocoa plantations were treated with
programmes to control diseases and pests last season and the planted area
is set to expand this season. Robert Poku-Kyei, the special assistant to
the Ghanaian finance minister, said: "We expect to produce at least
700,000 tonnes."
A Cocobod spokesman added: "We should probably be able to maintain 2003/04
production levels." Analysts said that another key reason for the jump
in Ghanaian production was due to the fact that Cocobod paid a guaranteed
minimum farmgate price of cedis9m ($998) a tonne as opposed to neighbouring
Ivory Coast's minimum of CFA390 ($0.76) a kg, which is merely indicative.
This has led to widespread smuggling, estimated to be in the region of
100,000 to 120,000 tonnes, from Ivory Coast over the border to Ghana.
Market watchers
expect this practice to continue unabated during the 2004/05 season.
Last week, the Ghanaian finance ministry announced that it was maintaining
its guaranteed price of cedis 9m a tonne, despite a decline in global cocoa
prices, to ensure that farmers received at least 70% of the projected fob
price.
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Ivorian farmers call off nationwide
strike - 01/11/04
Ivorian cocoa farmers have called off their nationwide strike after union
leaders representing them agreed to a CFAFr10bn ($19.5m) government loan
proposal. On October 18, Ivorian farmers went on strike, protesting that
an indicative minimum farmgate price of CFAFr390 a kg set for the 2004/05
season was too far below the CFAFr500 that they had demanded. Cocoa deliveries
were halted for five days at roadblocks manned by striking farmers and
several major exporters based at the main ports of Abidjan and San Pedro,
such as Cargill, ADM Cocoa and Barry Callebaut, suspended operations.
Since the strike began, talks between union leaders and officials have centred
on the funding of co-operatives to buy cocoa beans. On October 24, union
leaders said that they were satisfied with Abidjan's offer of a CFAFr10bn
loan to farmers' associations to end the dispute, while apparently dropping
their demand that the minimum farmgate price be raised.
However, the unions said they might resume industrial action if they do not
reach a deal with the government on how the loans should be distributed.
Unions want the proposed loan to be distributed through farmer-owned institutions
such as the CACC, rather than making it available through the National Investment
Bank, with the interest-charging co-operative guarantee fund, the FGCCC,
acting as a guarantor.
Laurent Kouadio Kouame, the vice president of Cesypaci, an umbrella organisation
of farmers' unions, said: "We are in agreement over the CFAFr10bn the
government is offering but we simply want the money to be made available
through the CACC or at Sifca-Coop and not through the FGCCC as the government
representatives have proposed."
Meanwhile, cocoa exporters said the strike had damaged beans left in trucks
due to high humidity levels.
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Ivory Coast Rebels Set Cocoa Transport Tax
- 22/09/04
Buyers who purchase 2004-05 cocoa beans in Ivory Coast
growing areas held by rebels will have to pay a transport tax of between
25,000 and 40,000 CFA
francs per truckload ($1=XOF540) before being allowed to take the beans out
of rebel-held territory. "The tax will have to be paid on beans shipped
to the south (of Ivory Coast) or to neighboring countries," the director
of La Centrale, Andre Ouattara, told Dow Jones Newswires.
The amount due depended on the size of the truck, he said, adding that all
trucks transporting agricultural products had to pay the road tax. La Centrale,
formerly called The Economic Cell, is a sort of ministry of economy. Revenue
from the tax will be used to pay wages to rebel fighters, Ouattara said.
The rebel-held zone, 60% of Ivory Coast's total territory,
includes northwestern cocoa growing areas of Vavoua, Danane, Man, Biankouma
and Touba. Together
they produce about 150,000 metric tons of cocoa beans per season (October-September).
That is 12.5% of Ivory Coast's total output. Some 1,000 U.N.- and French
peacekeepers control a buffer zone between government-held and rebel territory.
Since a roadmap to peace and reunification was signed in January 2003, goods
and people move between the north and the south. It is not known how many
tons of cocoa beans are shipped from the rebel- hold north directly to neighboring
countries but industry sources in Abidjan say the share they are getting
did increased in the 2003-04 season as compared to 2002-03, when up to 75,000
tons of Ivorian "rebel"-beans were shipped via Guinea, Burkina
Faso, Ghana and Togo.
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Analysts predict record Ghanaian crop
- 26/07/04
Ghanaian cocoa production estimates for the 2003/04 crop year have been raised
by 115,000 tonnes to a colossal 705,000 tonnes amid reports of large yields
and increased smuggling from Ivory Coast.
According to US analysts Informa Economics, Ghana will produce 705,000 tonnes
this season, smashing the previous record of 580,869 tonnes set in 1964/65
and far above last year's 497,000 tonnes. Informa Economics said that Ghana
Cocoa Board's officially reported purchases of 664,304 tonnes up to June
3, were well above those made in 2002/03 and higher than most trade expectations.
Furthermore, previous estimates that 70,000 to 90,000 tonnes of cocoa beans
were smuggled out of Ivory Coast into Ghana due to significantly more favourable
farmgate prices there, appeared to be far less the true amount. An additional
10,000 to 20,000 tonnes were also said to have been smuggled out of rebel-controlled
areas of Ivory Coast into Liberia and Guinea.
Informa Economics said that its estimate for Ghana's 2003/04 cocoa production
could rise again if the mid-crop is above the five-year average of 50,100
tonnes. This increase in Ghana's output caused Informa Economics to raise
its 2003/04 global supply and demand surplus estimate to 204,000 tonnes from
129,000 tonnes.
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Ivory Coast plans national quality
committee - 26/07/04
Ivory Coast has unveiled a series of measures including the creation of a
national standards committee as part of a major drive to improve the quality
of its cocoa beans.
During a recent meeting between Ivory Coast's 12 cocoa and coffee industry
associations in Abidjan, officials revealed plans to improve the price premium
for the country's cocoa beans, which lags behind that of neighbouring Ghana
by some £70 ($130) a tonne. Foremost among the proposals were the establishment
of a national, unified quality committee and the introduction of a regular
competition that would give recognition to the best beans in the country.
Analysts said the creation of a national committee to promote quality would
be of particular significance to growers, many of whom have been calling
for the formation of such an industry group for some time.
Akadje Vincent, the president of the Ivorian national farmers' association
Syneagri, said that a number of initiatives would be introduced to improve
bean quality, including a nationwide campaign to raise awareness among growers
of the techniques at their disposal to improve the standard of their crops.
He added that the drying of cocoa beans on tarmac or plastic bags would be
banned and regular cocoa quality days would be held in each of the country's
growing regions.
Cocoa industry associations are said to have government backing for their
plans so are confident of technical and financial support from the sector's
state-run administrative and development organisations. Meanwhile, by July
11, shippers in Abidjan had declared 769,354 tonnes of cocoa beans for export
since the start of the season in October 2003, up from 765,013 tonnes a year
earlier.
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Bean arrivals at port of Abidjan show
big drop - 5/05/04
Cocoa bean arrivals at the Ivorian port of Abidjan fell by 7% during the
first half of the season mainly due to a combination of a late start to
the crop year and the effects of civil unrest. According to official data,
cocoa bean exports reached 625,808 tonnes by April 11, compared with 673,094
tonnes at the same stage last season. Some 26,628 tonnes were shipped between
April 1 and 11, with Abidjan grinders exporting 10,483 tonnes in bean equivalent.
Total cocoa product exports between October 1 and April 11 reached 161,293
tonnes compared with 159,359 tonnes over the same period last season.
West Africa begins harvesting its mid
crop - 05/04/04
Harvesting of West Africa's 2003/04 mid crop has begun in earnest as Nigeria's
farmers started gathering beans in the main south western producing belt.
In Ondo State, which accounts for the bulk of Nigeria's crop, harvesting
has begun and other states are expected to follow suit very soon. Patrick
Adedapo-Aisida, the president of the Cocoa Merchants' Association of Nigeria,
said that some of the mid-crop was already in the market but no price had
been fixed for it yet.
He added: "The crop is already coming out of the farms in Ondo State,
although the quantity is moderate. The volume should be bigger in a few weeks."
Mr Adedapo-Aisida said that a sizeable mid-crop harvest was expected in the
southwest due to the good rainfall since January. Rain began in the region
in mid-January and has continued until the present, enabling the mid-crop
to develop rapidly.
Each year, Nigeria produces between 35,000 and 40,000 tonnes of mid-crop
beans but experts at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria and the National
Cocoa Development Committee said 2003/04 output could reach around 47,000
tonnes because rains were late last year and early this year. Neighbouring
Ekiti State reported that mid-crop harvesting had also begun although the
volume was small.
The southwest region produces 70% of Nigeria's annual 160,000 to 200,000
tonnes of cocoa.
Nigerian Gov't Renews Import Tax Waiver
For Jute Cocoa Bags - 30/03/04
The Nigerian government has renewed an import tax waiver for hydrocarbon-free
jute bags according to the Cocoa Association of Nigeria. The government last
year did not renew the import tax waiver for the bags granted to CAN in 2002.
This led to a severe shortage and a 50% price hike of the bags in the 2003-04
cocoa season.
"The government last month renewed the waiver for 14,000 bales of bags.
The consignment is adequate for one cocoa season plus a few months," said
CAN's Executive Secretary Akinwale Ojo . The tax-free bags would be available
to CAN members only, he said. The bags will be carefully tested for the
occurrence of hydrocarbons, as CAN two months ago received a complaint
from the U.K.'s Confectionery, Chocolate and Biscuit Manufacturers' Association,
or Cabisco, that traces of hydrocarbons had been found in Nigerian cocoa. "We
are still investigating what happened, where and how hydrocarbons got into
our cocoa beans. May be we ordered the wrong types of jute bags," Ojo
said, adding that bags would henceforth be checked twice for hydrocarbons:
on leaving the bag plant and on arrival in Nigeria.
In 2002, the government allowed the industry to import 21,000 bales or
6.3 million bags without paying taxes. Nigeria produces 160,000-200,000
metric tons of cocoa annually and needs over 10,000 bales of jute bags,
or 3 million bags annually, Ojo said. The jute bags are all imported. Local
manufacturing plants shut down years ago due to the high cost of imported
raw materials and poor management.
ICCO predicts small deficit in global
supplies - 22/03/04
Production falls in several key origins will to lead to a global cocoa deficit
of about 60,000 tonnes at the end of the 2003/04 year according to a recent
forecast by the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO).
Published last week, the predicted deficit was based on an estimated 2003/04
global production of 3.068m tonnes. This would be 46,000 tonnes less than
last season, while global grindings were forecast at 3.097m tonnes, up 91,000
tonnes, or 3%, from last year's total.
According to the latest ICCO figures, ending stocks should total 1.133m tonnes
this season. This would be 60,000 tonnes, or 6% less than last year's surplus
of 77,000 tonnes, while the 2003/04 stocks/ grindings ratio was expected
to fall to 36.6% from 39.7% in 2002/03.
Meanwhile, the ICCO has once again failed to reach an agreement on the planned
relocation of its headquarters to Abidjan following contradictory security
reports from Ivory Coast. In 2001, the ICCO took the decision to move out
of its current London premises, which were proving too expensive to rent.
Abidjan will provide a brand new premises tax-free for 10 years and offer
all ICCO staff diplomatic status. However, following the outbreak of hostilities
in 2002, the move has been put on hold while the security situation is assessed.
Cocoa nations meet to fix date of ICCO
Abidjan move - 15/03/04
World cocoa consumers and producers met to fix a date to move the International
Cocoa Organization's headquarters from London to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in
order to save costs, members said. "The basis of the decision is not
in question. The (ICCO) headquarters are to move to Abidjan. We just need
to agree now when to move," according to a spokesman for the producers,
Saint-Cyr Djikalou. The ICCO said last year it would decide in January 2004
on the timing of the move to Abidjan. "It's been a long process but
the international community has backed the move... and we hope the same international
community meeting here today will agree on a date," he added. Djikalou
said the producers were ready to move in the next few months.
But consumers seemed reluctant to give the green light, citing concerns about
security since Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, plunged into
civil war in 2002. "We just think the political system is not stable
enough to accept a move in the near future. We would prefer to have the time
for the executive director to hire new staff and to train them so there is
no interruption... So we are aiming for December 2005," said a participant
from the consumers, who asked not be named. He said there was no halfway
solution - moving just part of the ICCO - whose members cover about 80 percent
of the world cocoa production and around 70 percent of consumption. He also
said the next Ivorian elections due in late 2005 were also a factor in consideration
for consumers in order to measure the country's political stability.
Cocoa Industry Faces US Legislation Challenge on 'bio-terrorism' -
15/03/04
Several African cocoa-producing nations, including the world's leading grower,
Cote d'Ivoire, have said they fear that an impending US law against bio-terrorism
will eat into their profit. Representatives from Cote d'Ivoire, which accounts
for 40% of the world's cocoa market, Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon held talks
last week to discuss
the law that will take effect in August. The four countries last year produced
2157-million tons of cocoa beans in total, accounting for 70% of world production.
The US is the world's leading consumer of cocoa and chocolate. The US legislation
will require tight controls on many natural and manufactured products, including
cocoa, as part of measures to strengthen national security in the wake of
the terrorist attacks of September 11.
"These controls have a cost which must be paid by the exporters and
means that a number of measures will have to be taken at the port of Abidjan,
with
other practical steps at the ports of arrival," said Ahoua Don Mello,
director general of Cote d'Ivoire's national office for technical and development
studies. "It is important to prepare for this first major challenge
as a matter of urgency." Meanwhile The Monitor, Kampala, writes that
the future of the cocoa industry in Uganda is at risk for another reason
- a lack of funds, according to the Uganda Cocoa Association (UCA).
The Africa Development Centre has stopped funding cocoa farming projects
and will wind up its operations in the country in June. More than 2000 Ugandan
farmers from the cocoa growing districts of Bundibugyo, Mukono, Kamuli, Hoima,
Masindi, Kibaale, Mayuge, Jinja and Iganga will be adversely affected. "If
we don't get funds by end of June there will be no UCA activity.
The country's cocoa industry is at stake," said an official who asked
not to be named. After coffee, Uganda's main traditional cash crop, was attacked
by wilt disease, the UCA was established in 2000/01 to promote and train
cocoa farmers. It has been supported by Irish Aid, but the budget ends in
June. In 2002/03 Uganda exported 3100 tons of cocoa and fetched about US$5m.
Nigerian Cocoa Farmers Want Special
Fund - 04/03/04
Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria has urged the federal government to establish
a bridging fund for cocoa farmers, to enable them to replace old cocoa
trees with improved varieties. The CRIN research officers who made the
call during an interactive session with the management of Abuja Securities
and Commodity Exchange (ASCE) in Ibadan, Oyo State, said planting of new
improved varieties would boost farmers' yield.
They said most cocoa trees currently in production have been producing since
1960, and are now old. The researchers said farmers were reluctant to replace
old trees because most of them could not afford to endure the loss of revenue
during the three-year gestation period before the maturity of new seedlings.
The research officers said CRIN has produced more than one million seedlings
of improved cocoa varieties that were capable of yielding a three-fold increase
over existing stock being currently used by farmers, but only 30 per cent
had been sold. Cocoa farmers co-operatives could be used to manage the bridging
fund.
The fund could also be used to subsidize the purchase of genuine chemicals,
thereby ensuring that farmers had access to genuine inputs at affordable
prices.
Ivory Coast urged to overhaul cocoa plantations - 04/03/04
Ivory Coast will fail to keep cocoa production at current levels unless farmers
start rejuvenating old plantations, industry analysts say. Last year's crop
of 1.36 million tonnes in the world's top cocoa producer was almost a record,
but the poor state of plantations dating from colonial times endanger its
long-term output, they say.
"
Ivory Coast will lose around 5-10 percent of its current share of the market
in the next 10 years if the plantations are not regenerated and if the progression
of diseases...isn't stopped," Philippe Petithuguenin of France's Cirad
agricultural research centre.
Expectations of a healthy crop in major producers around the world this season
mean hundreds of thousands of peasant smallholders in the West African country
are having to sell at ever lower prices. That leaves them with little money
to look after their fields, where most of the trees are now 40 years old
and getting well past their best. Average yields in Ivory Coast - 400 to
600 kg per hectare are much lower than in Indonesia, whose plantations yield
around 2,000 kg per hectare.
Little support can be expected from the government in Ivory Coast - which
remains split between a rebel-held northern half and government-controlled
south even after a civil war officially ended in July.
Poor pest control threatens Ivory Coast cocoa crop - 04/03/04
Poor pest control by farmers in Ivory Coast means a virulent disease taking
hold in the east of the country could sweep across the main western cocoa
belt, threatening a sharp drop in output, analysts say. Fungal black pod
disease has so far been largely contained in the eastern growing region of
the world's top cocoa producer, where it spread from neighbouring Ghana three
years ago.
But agronomists say farmers are not using enough pesticide and fertiliser
to combat the disease, which appears during the rainy season in the middle
of the year and has been responsible for big crop losses in Ghana in the
past.
Nigeria aiming to double cocoa production in two years
Nigeria hopes to double its cocoa production from the current level of 200,000
tonnes a year in line with its commitment to improve revenue from the non-oil
sector.
The President of the Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN), Dr Victor Iyama,
said in the southwestern city of Akure at the weekend that the relevance
of the National Cocoa Development Committee (NCDC), set up by Nigerian President
Olusegun Obasanjo, was gradually being felt as "there has been marked
improvement in the cocoa farms in the last two years".
He stated: "The President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has given the NCDC
the mandate to at least double cocoa production in the next two or three
years.
Ivory Coast Nat'l Bank To Boost
Cocoa Exports By Local Funding - 01/03/04
(OsterDowJones) - Ivory Coast's National Investment Bank, or BNI,
said it would increase funding of farmers' cooperatives and locally-owned
shipping companies by $24.8 million to boost exports of cocoa beans
by Ivorian-owned bodies. The 100% state-owned BNI, formerly called
the Caisse Autonome d'Amortissement, aims to increase cocoa shipments
by Ivorian exporters to 150,000 metric tons this season, compared
to 100,000 tons in the 2002-03 season (October-September), managing
director Victor Nambelessini told reporters.
"Last season we had 33 billion CFA francs ($1=XOF524) to finance
nine local exporters. This season we have already financed 15 local
exporters
with loans totaling 36 billion (CFA) and we are ready for the midcrop," he
said. The harvesting and marketing of the 2003-04 cocoa midcrop starts
on May 1 and ends Sept. 30. Forecasters expect a midcrop of 200,000
to 220,000 tons. This season's main crop is estimated at 950,000-980,000
tons.
SW Nigeria Cocoa Marketing Stops; Price
Disagreement - 12/02/04
(OsterDowJones)- A disagreement between exporters
and Local Buying Agents, or LBAs, over cocoa prices has halted
marketing of beans
in Nigeria's southwest region, which accounts for 70% of Nigeria's
annual cocoa production of 160,000-200,000 tons. One exporter in
Akure, Ondo state, said that because of falling world market cocoa
prices since Monday, it would not be profitable for exporters to
buy beans at 210,000-215,000 naira ($1=NGN136.90) a metric ton, as
LBAs want. He said the LBAs claimed they bought the cocoa at NGN200,000
a ton from farmers and that they should sell at no less than NGN210,000-NGN215,000
per ton to make some profit. "There is a disagreement between
exporters and the LBAs, and they (LBAs) are keeping back cocoa in
stores and warehouses, refusing to sell to exporters," a trader
in Akure told OsterDowJones by phone.
One LBA in Ile-Ife, Osun state, who spoke on
the condition of anonymity, said that for him and his colleagues
to break even, cocoa should
be sold to exporters at a minimum of NGN210,000 a ton. He said there
was still a lot of cocoa in the stores and warehouses in the southwest
but that LBAs would not sell at a loss. "We have seen world
market prices of cocoa going down since Monday. It would be unprofitable
to buy at 210,000 naira a ton or higher. You can't buy high and sell
low," said Patrick Adedapo-Aisida, President of the Cocoa Merchants
Association of Nigeria, or CMAN. He said exporters would allow LBAs
to hold on to their cocoa, adding that "if international market
prices move up, we will will buy." Another exporter in Akure
acknowledged that LBAs must sell at NGN210,000 a ton "to break
even" and needed to sell even higher to make some profit. Early
last month, trading in the southwest region stopped over disagreement
between farmers and exporters. Farmers then had sought NGN200,000
for a ton of their cocoa but exporters were willing to pay only NGN170,000-
NGN175,000 a ton. The disagreement was settled and marketing resumed
when world market prices appreciated, and exporters paid farmers
NGN200,000 per ton.
BCC's raises its production
forecast for current Ivorian crop - 10/02/04
Ivorian cocoa producers' federation the Coffee and Cocoa Bourse (BCC)
has raised its production estimate for the 2003/04 crop to 1.12m
tonnes although this is still less than last season's 1.35m tonnes
due to the impact of civil war in the country.
Estimates made last December put the main crop at between 800,000
and 900,000 tonnes, while the mid-crop was seen at less than 200,000
tonnes. However, BCC officials said that since those estimates were
made, it had conducted a survey of the cocoa growing regions and
had found that there was more cocoa than had been initially expected
in some western areas, which had been adversely affected by ethnic
clashes. Consequently, the BCC raised its crop estimates, pegging
Ivory Coast's main crop at 900,000 tonnes and the April to September
mid-crop at somewhere between 200,000 and 215,000 tonnes. However,
this is still lower than the 2002/03 harvest of 1.048m tonnes for
the main crop and 300,000 tonnes for the mid-crop.
Nigeria plans to boost planting
- 10/02/04
Nigeria plans to establish an extra 1m hectares of cocoa farms over
the next 10 years as part of a major expansion scheme to increase
output to at least 600,000 tonnes. Joseph Ojedeji, the general
secretary of Oyo State chapter of the Cocoa Farmers' Association
of Nigeria (CFAN), said that the federal government and the 14
cocoa-producing states in the country are to start the project
this year. In December 1999, Nigeria formed a National Cocoa Development
Committee (NCDC) to raise production to 320,000 tonnes by 2005
and the planting expansion is the first step towards achieving
this.
At the moment, Nigeria has an estimated 700,000 hectares of cocoa
farms, of which about 400,000 hectares are being farmed effectively.
Average yields on these farms is about 0.5 tonnes a hectare, which
is normal for smallholdings across West Africa.
Ghana urged to build more processing
plants - 26/01//04
Regional officials from Ghanaian cocoa-producing regions have urged
the federal government to establish more local cocoa processing factories
as a means of increasing earnings through the export of valued-added
produce.
Nai Kwao Outo, a member of the Central Region's Awutu Traditional
Council, said that the processing facilities, if built, would add
value to the commodity and guard against a global glut of cocoa beans.
He added that with large scale local processing, Ghana would be able
to sell a finished product, such as cocoa butter, fat or powder,
to exporters for higher prices than they could obtain for unprocessed
beans.
Ivorian cocoa bean arrivals at port
diminish - 05/01/04
Cocoa bean arrivals at Ivory Coast's ports over the first month of
the marketing year up to November 30 fell by about 10% when compared
with last year due to a combination of low prices, smuggling and
deteriorating security.
According to figures issued by the Coffee and Cocoa Bourse (BCC),
bean arrivals reached 339,265 tonnes during the key October to November
buying period, compared with 376,057 tonnes last season. The BCC's
data showed that 99,447 tonnes of cocoa arrived at Ivorian ports
in October 2003 and 239,818 tonnes arrived in November last year.
Despite the fall, November's figure, which averaged about 60,000
tonnes a week, was well above projected estimates. Exporters in the
port of San Pedro said that less than 10,000 tonnes of beans had
reached the port in the last week of November, whereas they would
usually receive 30,000 tonnes.
BCC figures published in November showed that, on average, exporters
had bought less than 50,000 tonnes of cocoa beans each week during
that month, which was below the weekly average of 65,000 tonnes usually
purchased at that stage in the season. The BCC's data also showed
that the average price paid to farmers was well down on last year,
with growers receiving an average of CFA366 ($0.70) a kg in October
and November, compared with CFA742 a kg last season.
Local industry officials estimated that between 480,000 and 510,000
tonnes of beans made it to the ports between the start of the campaign
until the end of the calendar year. This was much less than last
year's figure of 675,000 tonnes.
Nigeria steps up plans to launch
farm bourse
Nigeria has moved a step closer to setting up its planned national commodity
exchange by forming a committee to draw up a blueprint for the project.
Keen to open up its commodity market, Nigeria has been planning to launch a national
bourse for the past seven years. The idea of a commodity exchange was first mooted
in Nigeria in 1989, to replace the commodity marketing boards that were abolished
in 1986, when the country liberalised its cocoa trade.
Akinwale Ojo, the executive Secretary of the Cocoa Association of Nigeria (Can),
said that his organisation had participated in talks with the management of the
Abuja Securities and Commodity Exchange (Asce). The meeting ended with an agreement
to set up the committee, which will work out the details, guidelines and operational
framework of the exchange.
Dr Ojo said the committee would decide if the exchange should trade only in cocoa
at first and then introduce trade in other agricultural products, such as palm
oil, at a later date or trade them all from the outset. This new committee comprises
five Can members and three representatives from Asce.
However, one Asce source said that the commodity board would eventually be designed
to facilitate trading in spot and futures contracts for cocoa, palm oil, grains,
cotton, rubber, gum arabic and some minerals. Dr Ojo said the meeting also discussed
government policies concerning the cocoa sector and it was agreed that the sector
should be strengthened in the interest of all stakeholders.
