SummaryCompanies Torrential rains hit Ivory Coast cocoa farmsIvory Coast CCC cocoa regulator says output could declineBlack pod fungal disease spreading in farmsABOISSO, Ivory Coast, July 13 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast has stopped selling contracts for cocoa exports for the 2023-2024 season after heavy rains battered and flooded farms in the world's top cocoa-producing nation in recent weeks, the head of the country's cocoa sector regulator told Reuters.
Ivory Coast is in the middle of its April to November rainy season.
But Ivory Coast and other major cocoa producers Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon that account for around 70% of global production, have witnessed heavy tropical downpours in recent weeks.
On May 15, tropical rains fell continuously for eight hours with unprecedented intensity in the Aboisso region in southeastern Ivory Coast, farmers and residents told Reuters.
Farmers, cocoa pod counters, and cocoa exporters based in Ivory Coast, also told Reuters that they expected a significant decline in output during the first part of the main harvest.
Persons:
Yves Brahima Kone, Barry Callebaut, Kone, Jean Paul Kadjo, Soubre, Kouman Kouadio, Kouadio, CCC's Kone, Ange Aboa, Bate Felix, Elaine Hardcastle
Organizations:
Ivory Coast, Reuters, United Nations, Cocoa Council, Cargill, Hershey, Nestle, Plantations, Thomson
Locations:
Ivory, ABOISSO, Ivory Coast, United, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Aboisso, Farmers, Akressi, San Pedro, Tai