- Title: IVORY COAST-COCOA/STOCKPILING Ivorian farmers stock cocoa ahead of price rise
- Date: 25th August 2015
- Summary: BLOLEQUIN, IVORY COAST (AUGUST 22, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FARMERS LAYING OUT COCOA BEANS ON THE GROUND TO DRY BANNER IN FRENCH READING: WAYENA AGRICULTURAL CO-OPERATIVE OF BLOLEQUIN MORE OF FARMERS LAYING OUT COCOA BEANS ON THE GROUND CHICKEN WOMAN DOING CHORES AT HER COMPOUND (SOUNDBITE) (French) BOURAHIMA SORY, COCOA FARMER, SAYING: "I am going to keep some of my cocoa beans and I will sell some of it and whatever I get from the sale will go towards my immediate expenses. There is the maintenance of the plantations, but we also need to buy products to be able to maintain the plantations and the remaining beans. We will sell them in the new season when the cocoa price is set at 1000C CFA (1.67 USD). ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (AUGUST 24, 2015) (REUTERS) STREET SCENES VARIOUS OF SOFT COMMODITIES ANALYST, VICTORIA CRANDALL WORKING IN HER OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (English) VICTORIA CRANDALL, SOFT COMMODITIES ANALYST, SAYING: "I certainly think that the Ivorian government is in the position to raise the minimum farm gate price to 1,000 francs per kilo, if we look at the movement in the international market, cocoa prices have surged as compared to last year. Because they have sold 70 to 80 percent of the 2015/2016 crop, they are in a strong position to offer that price." BLOLEQUIN, IVORY COAST (AUGUST 22, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FARMER PUTTING COCOA BAGS ON SCALE SACKS OF BEANS VARIOUS OF BOURAHIMA SORY, FARMER, CHECKING READINGS FROM SCALE SCALE COCOA BAGS (SOUNDBITE) (French) BOURAHIMA SORY, FARMER SAYING: "If the price goes up to 1,000 francs (1.67 USD), it will really helps us because we have too many problems. Our children have to go to school, and sometimes when it's the beginning of the school year, we don't have enough money. STREET SCENES VARIOUS OF BANNER READING IN FRENCH: AGRICULTURAL CO-OPERATIVE FOR WOMEN OF DUEKOUE WORKER UNLOADING TRUCK WITH SACKS OF COCOA (SOUNDBITE) (French) OLIVIER DION, FARMER, SAYING: "We have no warehouse and we cannot wait until the release of the new market prices, because we don't have space for storage, so we are going to sell whatever we harvest so that we can send our children to school." VARIOUS OF FARMER SEATED WITH HER CHILDREN
- Embargoed: 9th September 2015 13:00
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- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA6841J4XKABEFGOKFADMTYU3DF
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- Story Text: Cocoa farmers and merchants in Ivory Coast are preparing to stock much of the remaining beans of the 2014/2015 season as they seek to profit from an expected rise in the official price for the new season, starting in October.
The harvest in the world's top cocoa grower is winding down with production expected total around 1.75 million tonnes by the end of September, in line with last year's record output.
However, the withholding of beans risks distorting final production figures as farmers seek to benefit from an increase in the official farm gate price at the start of the new season.
Currently set at 850 CFA francs (1.4 USD) per kg, the price is expected to rise to 1,000 CFA francs (1.67 USD) per kg at the start of next season, finance ministry sources told Reuters.
At the end of last season, the price increase led to the stocking of more than 100,000 tonnes of cocoa. With worse growing conditions and less cocoa left in the bush, stocking is expected to be significantly lower this year.
"I am going to keep some of my cocoa beans and I will sell some of it and what ever I get from the sale will go towards my immediate expenses. There is the maintenance of the plantations, but we also need to buy products to be able to maintain the plantations and the remaining beans. We will sale them in the new season when the cocoa price is set at 1000C CFA (1.67 USD), said Sory Bourahima, who farms 16 hectares of cocoa in Blolequin, in the western cocoa belt.
The cocoa season is due to start on October 1. Following a 2011 reform of the sector, the government decided to forward sell its cocoa harvest through a messaging system.
According to government sources last month, authorities have also fixed the farmgate cocoa price paid to farmers at 1,000 CFA francs ($1.67) per kg of beans.
Victoria Crandall is a soft commodity analyst based in Abidjan.
"I certainly think that the Ivorian government is in the position to raise the minimum farm gate price to a 1,000 Francs (1.67 USD) per kilo, if we look at the movement in the international market, cocoa prices have surged as compared to last year. Because they have sold 70 to 80 per cent of the 2015/2016 crop, they are in strong position to offer that price," she said.
Many farmers are hopeful that the new pricing will help boost their incomes.
"If the price goes up to 1,000 francs (1.67 USD), it will really helps us because we have too many problems. Our children have to go to school, and sometimes when it's the beginning of the school year, we don't have enough money," said Bourahima, who has three children.
Ivory's Coast's marketing board, the Coffee and Cocoa Council, announced plans last year to seize all undeclared cocoa stocks at the end of the season to clamp down on warehousing that risks causing shortages at the ports. It outlined sanctions including fines and the withdrawal of trading licenses.
However, exporters said the CCC lacks the capacity to monitor warehouses located in the interior of the West African country and the measure had little impact.
The climatic conditions at the end of the current season also mean that there will be fewer beans available to stock than in previous years because the harvest was not as good as expected. Many farmers also don't have proper storage facilities to stock beans and may have to soon sell their beans.
"We have no warehouse and we cannot wait until the release of the new market prices, because we don't have space for storage, so we are going to sell whatever we harvest so that we can send our children to school," said Olivier Dion, who farms 8 hectares within the national park of Mont Peko, and has 3 children.
In the decade before the 2013/14 season, Ivory Coast recorded average annual production of around 1.4 million tonnes, but the International Cocoa Organization said output could top 2 million tonnes in the coming years. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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