Ivory Coast has decided to suspend the sale of cocoa export contracts for the upcoming 2023-2024 season, primarily due to the impact of an unusually intense rainy season. This has resulted in concerns about the cocoa supply, leading to a surge in cocoa futures prices, reaching their highest level in 46 years in recent weeks.
The successful cultivation of cocoa requires a delicate balance between rainfall and dry, sunny periods. However, the excessive rainfall experienced during this year’s rainy season disrupted this equilibrium. Côte d’Ivoire has been compelled to halt sales, fearing an inadequate production volume to fulfill the contracts.
Yves Brahima Koné, the General Manager of the Coffee-Cocoa Council (CCC), explains the rationale behind this decision: “As a trader, we engage in the market when prices are generally favorable. If the price is unfavorable, we refrain from participating. This is the typical situation for traders. However, in this case, we have suspended sales for a specific period due to the climatic situation. We anticipate that the production expected from our plantations in October will fall short of our expectations.”
The Coffee-Cocoa Council is hopeful that the subsequent production phase from January to March will help restore balance in cocoa volumes. Failure to achieve this could have adverse consequences on the country’s economy, as Côte d’Ivoire heavily relies on cocoa, which accounts for 40% of its export earnings, making it the world’s largest cocoa producer.
Other significant cocoa-producing countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon, as well as various Latin American nations, have also encountered challenges resulting from heavy tropical rainfall. According to the CCC, global cocoa production has declined by a quarter compared to the previous year.