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COPAL COPAL COCOACOCOA InfoInfo A Weekly Newsletter of Cocoa Producers' Alliance th th Issue No. 434 4 – 8 April 2011 r
e t e t c e l n s a i l w l e A
N ' s a r e o c c u o d C o r P e
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Health andI Nutrition Eat more chocolate! Looming release of cocoa good news for Do you (heart) chocolate? Evaluating Dothe cocoayour healthchocolatiers a favour, drinkINSIDE Cocoa THIS everydayISSE: "prescription" for cardiac health ‘Indonesia,It’s nature’s Ghana May miracleFill Cocoa Void food’ ANALYSIS-Investment key as Indonesia eyes ICCO DAILY COCOA PRICES Production and Quality UP-COMING EVENTSgreater US cocoa exports IN THIS ISSUE UPDATE 1-Ghana cocoa volumes break record Ivory Coast’s Ouattara AsksLONDON EU to (LIFFE) Lift Cocoa- FUTURES mid-season Port Sanctions MARKET UPDATE Cameroon cocoa exports up 21 pct from year-ago The Market NEW YORK (ICE) FUTURES Emerging markets drive record Barry Callebaut Labour Issues MARKET UPDATE half year net profits FROM THE NEWS MEDIA Domestic cocoa prices may see a decline this year Cocoa price slides as Cote d’ Ivoire conflict ends Environmental Issue TIT BITS Cocoa’s wild prices swing are bitter sweet Ivorian cocoa weather good, crisis disrupts Asia Cocoa-Butter prices dip on soft demand; harvest Indonesia harvest delayed Research & Development Processing & Manufacturing Cocoa Processing Company Opts For Cheap Cocoa Beans Promotion & Consumption Malaysia Guan Chong 2011 Cocoa Grindings May Rise 62% -Executive Others Business & Economy Cocoa exports dropped 36.3 percent ICCO Daily Cocoa Prices ICCO Daily Price ICCO Daily price London futures New York futures (SDR/tonne) ($US/tonne) (£/tonne) ($US/tonne)
4th April 1948.15 3086.83 1959.67 3023.00
5th April 1926.27 3049.11 1916.67 2987.67
6th April 1936.99 3076.42 1927.33 3019.00
7th April 1932.06 3067.00 1920.67 3012.33
8th April 1914.06 3048.61 1897.00 3007.00
Average 1932.00 306.00 1924.00 3010.00
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684 2 Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE) London Futures Market – Summary of Trading Activities (£ per tone)
Monday 4th April 2011 Month Opening Trans Settle Change Daily High Daily Low Volume May 2011 1964 1956 9 1989 1943 4,449 Jul 2011 1966 1955 5 1988 1940 3,159 Sep 2011 1983 1968 3 2003 1952S 882 Dec 2011 1999 1989 6 2021S 1974 500 Mar 2012 2026 1998 4 2031 1980S 194 May 2012 2021 2007 4 2021S 2000 12 Jul-12 2022 2015 5 2022S 2022S 7 Sep-12 2013 2018 4 2013S 2013S 1 Dec 2012 2024 2027 4 2024S 2024S 1 Mar 2013 2005 -9 0 Average/Totals 1994 9,205
Tuesday 5th April 2011 Month Opening Trans Settle Change High Low Volume May 2011 1900 1912 -44 1922 1888 7,789 Jul 2011 1901 1911 -44 1919 1886 6,178 Sep 2011 1930 1927 -41 1934 1902S 2,110 Dec 2011 1930 1946 -43 1950 1920S 3,060 Mar 2012 1944 1956 -42 1957S 1934S 2,111 May 2012 1960 1965 -42 1967 1940S 783 Jul-12 1969 -46 0 Sep-12 1972 -46 0 Dec 2012 1981 -46 0 Mar 2013 1959 -46 0 Average/Totals 1950 22,031
Wednesday 6th April 2011 Month Opening Trans Settle Change High Low Volume May 2011 1921 1928 16 1948 1903 5,121 Jul 2011 1920 1921 10 1939 1897S 4,196 Sep 2011 1939 1933 6 1951S 1914S 2,367 Dec 2011 1956 1949 3 1968S 1928S 1,777 Mar 2012 1971 1958 2 1979S 1939 902 May 2012 1980 1967 2 1990 1964S 74 Jul-12 1971 2 0 Sep-12 1974 2 0 Dec 2012 1983 2 0 Mar 2013 1961 2 0 Average/Totals 1955 14,437
Thursday 7th April 2011 Month Opening Trans Settle Change High Low Volume May 2011 1929 1921 -7 1944 1911 3,270 Jul 2011 1925 1914 -7 1935 1903 4,368
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684 3 Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org Sep 2011 1938 1927 -6 1946S 1919S 2,380 Dec 2011 1946 1941 -8 1949 1933S 556 Mar 2012 1953 1954 -4 1959 1946 202 May 2012 1962 1959 -8 1965S 1957S 12 Jul-12 1961 1963 -8 1961 1961 1 Sep-12 1966 -8 0 Dec 2012 1975 -8 0 Mar 2013 1951 -10 0 Average/Totals 1947 10,789
Friday 8th April 2011 Month Opening Trans Settle Change High Low Volume May 2011 1913 1898 -23 1929 1883 5,237 Jul 2011 1905 1889 -25 1921 1871 3,611 Sep 2011 1919 1904 -23 1934S 1885S 1,646 Dec 2011 1933 1915 -26 1947S 1900 1,739 Mar 2012 1946 1929 -25 1963 1915S 1,395 May 2012 1950 1935 -24 1970S 1928S 250 Jul-12 1960 1937 -26 1966 1935 174 Sep-12 1940 -26 0 Dec 2012 1949 -26 0 Mar 2013 1925 -26 0 Average/Totals 1922 14,052
Average for the week 1922 14103 70,514
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684 4 Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org New York Board of Trade (New York Futures Market – Summary of Trading Activities) (US$ per tone)
Monday 4th April 2011 Month Open Price Change High Low Volume May 2011 3011 3020 9 3099 2994 17,089 Jul 2011 3040 3039 11 3114 3012 13,328 Sep 2011 3044 3052 8 3108 3027 1,129 Dec 2011 3071 3074 3 3128 3047 596 Mar 2012 3171 3113 3 3171 3087 135 May 2012 3098 3108 7 3110 3085 133 Jul 2012 3102 3111 10 3102 3088 9 Sep 2012 3099 3106 13 3099 3092 7 Dec 2012 0 3115 10 0 0 0 Mar 2013 0 3120 15 0 0 0 Average/Totals 3086 32426
Tuesday 5th April 2011 Month Open Price Change High Low Volume May 2011 2987 2975 -45 2992 2927 18,428 Jul 2011 3010 2993 -46 3010 2945 16,084 Sep 2011 2990 3011 -41 3020 2963 1,208 Dec 2011 3054 3035 -39 3054 2990 1,210 Mar 2012 3060 3079 -34 3081 3031 401 May 2012 3050 3071 -37 3067 3029 18 Jul 2012 3054 3075 -36 3054 3054 2 Sep 2012 3054 3070 -36 3054 3054 1 Dec 2012 3072 3080 -35 3072 3027 2 Mar 2013 0 3110 -10 0 0 0 Average/Totals 3050 37354
Wednesday 6th April 2011 Month Open Price Change High Low Volume May 2011 2981 2999 24 3040 2963 16,432 Jul 2011 3005 3014 21 3049 2979 13,424 Sep 2011 3011 3030 19 3056 2996 1,245 Dec 2011 3033 3051 16 3075 3020 654 Mar 2012 3075 3098 19 3100 3075 31 May 2012 3071 3091 20 3071 3071 2 Jul 2012 0 3088 13 0 0 0 Sep 2012 0 3080 10 0 0 0 Dec 2012 3075 3100 20 3130 3075 21 Mar 2013 0 3133 23 0 0 0 Average/Totals 3068 31809
Thursday 7th April 2011 Month Open Price Change High Low Volume May 2011 2975 2987 -12 3028 2975 13,819 Jul 2011 3014 3002 -12 3038 2994 12,548
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684 5 Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org Sep 2011 3025 3017 -13 3049 3013 1,915 Dec 2011 3058 3040 -11 3071 3033 852 Mar 2012 3098 3085 -13 3110 3085 21 May 2012 0 3077 -14 0 0 13 Jul 2012 0 3070 -18 0 0 20 Sep 2012 0 3060 -20 0 0 59 Dec 2012 0 3073 -27 0 0 51 Mar 2013 0 3112 -21 0 0 1 Average/Totals 3052 29299
Friday 8th April 2011 Month Open Price Change High Low Volume May 2011 2991 2974 -13 3019 2941 19,544 Jul 2011 3001 2985 -17 3018 2947 21,076 Sep 2011 3040 2999 -18 3040 2960 2,697 Dec 2011 3037 3026 -14 3050 2985 1,473 Mar 2012 3085 3073 -12 3085 3036 155 May 2012 3052 3065 -12 3052 3052 2 Jul 2012 3052 3060 -10 3052 3052 1 Sep 2012 3050 3052 -8 3050 3050 18 Dec 2012 3076 3067 -6 3076 3076 18 Mar 2013 0 3101 -11 0 0 0 Average/Totals 2118 44984
Average for the week 2956 8179 8179
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684 6 Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org NewsNEWS
HealthHealth and Nutrition Nutrit
Eat more chocolate! NJ.com (blog) By George Guerin/Fitness Blogger April 04, 2011,
Chocolate.jpgChocolate both helps reduce 'bad' and help boost 'good' cholesterol
Yes, you read right. According to a new study by Harvard researchers, cocoa consumption is associated with decreased blood pressure, improved blood vessel health, and improvement in cholesterol levels, among other benefits.
Best to remember the term: everything in moderation. Also, dark chocolate has more pure cocoa than milk chocolate. Consumption of flavonoid-rich cocoa was said to have decreased “bad” LDL cholesterol among people under age 50, and increased good HDL cholesterol (valid excuse for our youth). But be careful what kind of chocolate you reach for. Pure chocolate is going to be better for you than the peanut encrusted, caramel swirled calorie sin (at every check-out aisle).
I’m not suggesting you (or any of my clients) buy candy bars to control your cholesterol, but if you’re having a sweet craving: go for the cocoa.
Do you (heart) chocolate? Evaluating the cocoa "prescription" for cardiac health Scope (blog) By Keith Rozendal April-07-2011
I just stocked my desk with some emergency rations - mainly whole grain snack bars with dark chocolate bits. My brain thanks me every time I tear into one. Now I'm also hoping what I've just learned about chocolate helping the heart proves true.
You may have missed Lisa Parikh, MD's, recent review of the trade-offs inherent in prescribing chocolate for heart health on Clinical Correlations: The research shows dark chocolate provides nearly four times the antioxidants as black tea. According to the studies Parikh reviews, those compounds may help your blood pressure and coronary arteries.
Don't take this evidence as a free license to over-indulge, though. The blood pressure benefits didn't improve much beyond a daily dose of 6 grams (a tad more than a single Hershey's Kiss). And Parikh says, on balance, the research record is a long way from proving the overall health effects:
When my patient returns, I will tell him that although it seems like chocolate may be good for you, there is not enough data out for me to wholeheartedly recommend it. Like so many good things in life, chocolate should be used in moderation.
Previously: High-quality chocolate linked to lower risk of heart failure and Chocolate: not the feel-good food we thought?
Production & Quality
UPDATE 1-Ghana cocoa volumes break record mid-season
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684 7 Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org Futures Pros By Kwasi Kpodo 2011-04-04 ACCRA, April 4 (Reuters) - Cocoa output from world No. 2 grower Ghana broke a record less than halfway into its year-long season, according to official figures on Monday. Declared cocoa purchases by private buyers to Ghana's industry regulator Cocobod -- the best reflection of output in the West African state -- reached 743,603 tonnes by March 24 since the start of the season in October.
That is up 44 percent over the same period last year, and beats a 2005-06 full-season record of 740,000 tonnes, the industry data showed on Monday.
Ghana is the world's second-largest cocoa grower behind neighbouring Ivory Coast, and is seeking to ramp up production dramatically through enhanced farm husbandry, increased fertiliser application and by boosting farmer incentives.
Total purchases for the twenty-fifth week of season rose to 9,373 tonnes from 7,543.8 tonnes in week 24, and were significantly higher than the 2,680 tonnes bought in the corresponding week last year.
Cocobod is targeting a record output of at least 850,000 tonnes of cocoa throughout this crop year, citing the adoption of improved farming techniques buoyed by favourable weather conditions.
There were reports of smuggled cocoa flowing into Ghana from top grower Ivory Coast where political unrest as a result of election dispute has paralysed its cocoa industry.
But Cocobod officials have denied the reports, saying any such inflows would not be more than 40,000 tonnes. Ghana hopes to produce 1 million tonnes of cocoa by 2012.
Last week, deputy Cocobod Executive Yaw Adu-Ampomah told Reuters Cocobod was targetting around 900,000 tonnes of purchases next season
The Market
Emerging markets drive record Barry Callebaut half year net profits BakeryAndSnacks.com By Shane Starling, 04-Apr-2011
Strong performance in emerging markets and a strategic focus on customer segmentation rather than individual products have driven Barry Callebaut to record half year profits.
The Swiss chocolate maker saw its six month net profit figure rise 9% to CHF158.8m (€122.81m) in the first half of 2010 even as political unrest grew in primary cocoa source the Ivory Coast. Western European sales volumes fell 1.8% amid profits coming under aggressive price pressure and "weaker consumer product results".
Eastern Europe sales volumes, however, rose 7.4% pulling itself out of a previous slump. Overall European volumes increased 2.3%. Its global sourcing and cocoa business showed strong growth as operating profit jumped 76.9% from €105.88m to €128.04m.
Aside from the good performance in emerging markets and customer-led focus, reduced financial costs and favourable tax rates were cited as the primary reasons for the overall profit rise which was actually 17% in local currencies.
EBIT operating profit climbed 4% to CHF217.1m (€ 168.4m) on revenue of CHF2.74bn (€2.12bn), while chocolate volumes grew 7.1% to 706.6m tonnes. The period enabled Barry Callebaut to reduce its net debt 12.5% to CHF956.2m (€739.5m).
Emerging markets like India, China, Brazil, Poland, Russia, Mexico and the Asia Pacific were highlighted where investments were seeing 20+% volume gains in some markets. Emerging markets now account for 21%
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684 8 Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org of Barry Callebaut's business. “Once again, we managed to significantly outperform the global chocolate market by growing twice as fast," said Juergen Steinemann.
Ivory Coast
Consolidation of an outsourcing deal with Kraft and the buy-out of the remaining 40% of its Malaysian operation were seen as as key events in the period by chief executive officer, Juergen B. Steinemann. He also highlighted growing unrest in the Ivory Coast which had driven the price of cocoa up 23% on 2010 prices. Milk powder prices also jumped 50%.
"In recent months, we faced a challenging political situation in Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s most important cocoa- growing country,” he said.
“In order to avoid supply problems we have put in place a contingency plan and stepped up our sourcing and production activities in other countries. We believe we have taken those steps necessary to enable us to honor our customer contracts and meet our commitments during 2011. However, our primary concern during this difficult time is the safety and welfare of our employees and everyone living in Côte d’Ivoire. We remain committed to the cocoa farming communities and hope for a peaceful resolution of the current situation.”
Customer segmentation In a broadcast on the results, Steinemann paid tribute to the segmentation strategy that saw the company split into three core customer segments: Industrial food manufacturers, professional or artisanal users and global retailers. "We have very much put chocolate into our different customer locations," he said noting stronger relationships with Hershey and Nestlé also offered great outsourcing potential.
A deal with US coffee maker Green Mountain Coffee Roasters was providing a pipeline into the US beverage industry.
Healthier product commitments had also been met with reduced use of hydrogenated fats and trans fatty acids almost entirely eliminated. The company aims to grow its chocolate volume sales by between 6-8% until 2013.
Domestic cocoa prices may see a decline this year Economic Times By PK Krishnakumar & Madhvi Sally, ET Bureau 6 Apr, 2011, KOCHI | AHMEDABAD: Domestic cocoa prices may see a decline this year as the new crop promises to be good. The dry bean prices, which have been hovering around Rs 160 per kg, are set to drop by 10% in the short term, say chocolate companies. However, the global cocoa market continues to be volatile with civil war continuing in the principal producing region of Ivory Coast.
"The new crop for which harvest has begun is good. As a result, the prices may go into a correction mode. It could drop to Rs 145 per kg level," said Mahesh Morde, director of Morde, a leading chocolate compound manufacturer in India.
Heavy unseasonal rains had adversely affected the cocoa crop last year. Delay in flowering resulted in poor quality beans. The chocolate companies found it difficult source good beans from the market. The shortage pushed up the dry bean prices to Rs 180 to Rs 190 per kg level.
Cocoa price slides as Cote d’ Ivoire conflict ends BusinessDay By Siaka Momoh April 08, 2011 Nigerian cocoa farmers and traders who have been enjoying high cocoa prices following the Cote d’ Ivoire crisis have had their joy cut short, as prices have fallen.
This development erases some of the gains in the two previous sessions, on speculation the conflict in the war-torn Cot d’ Ivoire, the world’s largest producer of the beans, may end and cocoa supplies will start flowing again.
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684 9 Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org “Incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to step down after a disputed election in November, is in talks with the administration of President-elect Alassane Ouattara to find a safe exit,” said Ally Coulibaly, Ouattara’s ambassador to France.
“ The possibility of a quick resolution continues to pressure prices,” Keith Flury, an analyst at Rabobank International in London, said by e-mail Tuesday. “Few speculators want to be long with the potential for exports to resume quickly and the mid-crop to be harvested,” he said, referring to the smaller of Ivory Coast’s two annual harvests.
BusinessDay had earlier reported that Nigerian cocoa farmers, who were celebrating an upsurge in the international price of cocoa beans, an offshoot of the Ivory Coast political debacle, might not celebrate for too long because the crisis was not the cocoa cash cow business opportunity that they thought it was.
BusinessDay’s argument then was that though Ivory Coast was stuck with its stock of cocoa beans because export had been prohibited and international prices had gone up, and as a result of this, Nigerian cocoa farmers and all other players in the cocoa business would not be able to take advantage of this price rise.
Businessday’s argument was pegged on the fact that nearly all international cocoa trading companies based in Ivory Coast had significant quantity that could not be shipped at the quays and as such, a lot of money was tied down. European banks were no more funding their operations in Ivory Coast, and by extension, they had no financial muscle to buy from other origins like Nigeria.
Bloomberg reported Cocoa for May delivery retreated $59 (11 weeks low, or 2 percent, to $2,961 a metric ton by 7:02 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York on hopes that exports would resume soon. Cocoa for July delivery fell 46 pounds, or 2.4 percent, to 1,909 pounds ($3,099) a ton on NYSE Liffe in London.
Prices before now were September 2010 - $2,874.98, October 2010 - $2,927.45, November 2010 - $2,910.31, December $2010 - $3,047.06, January 2011 - $3,164.48, February 2011 - $3,471.10, April 1, 2011 - $3020.05.
Supplies from Ivory Coast have been disrupted since Ouattara ordered an export ban in January. Shipments may resume swiftly after the conflict ends and the European Union lifts sanctions against the West African country.
Nigerian cocoa farmers hoarded their stock at the peak of the Cote d’Ivoire crisis, expecting the price to further go up.
Folake Areola, former national president, Fisheries Society of Nigeria’s comment, buttressed the point that Nigerian cocoa farmers had no reason to celebrate the high price of the produce that came with the Ivory Coast political debacle.
According to her, “the general scenario in Nigeria is that most cocoa farmers often times would have taken direct loans, or chemicals and other inputs in exchange for the sale of their harvest at a predetermined price.
“ Therefore, they may not benefit from the increase in price as a result of the crisis except they are able to renegotiate the old price if the price difference is appreciable. The middle men or farmers who are well off and speculators with facilities to stockpile are most likely to gain or take advantage of the resultant international price increase of cocoa. The issue here also is that the high season for the sale of cocoa is October to December and most other farmers must have sold out their stock.”
It would be recalled that Ivory Coast’s internationally recognized leader, Alassane Ouatarra, in a test of his authority as he battled the incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo who is clinging to power for control of the world’s largest cocoa-producing country, ordered a one-month ban on cocoa exports. The move aimed to strangle Laurent Gbagbo’s ability to pay civil servants and maintain their loyalty.
Cocoa’s wild prices swing are bitter sweet MarketWatch By Myra P. Saefong , MarketWatch April 8, 2011,
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Political conflict has often been a key driver for action in the cocoa markets, but recent price swings show just how much volatility traders must contend with — and in the commodities market, volatility can lead to opportunity. “For many traders, volatility is like
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684 10 Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org mother’s milk,” said Phil Flynn, a vice president at PFGBest. “Traders like trying to guess the size of the expected range of the day — the bigger the range, the more profit potential.”
And cocoa, recently, has certainly seen a wide range of trading. After a rally that lifted prices by about 25% this year through early March, cocoa is now almost right back where it started. ‘For many traders, volatility is like mother’s milk. Traders like trying to guess the size of the expected range of the day — the bigger the range, the more profit potential.’
“Volatility is at its highest levels since mid-September 2009,” said Darin Newsom, a senior analyst at Telvent DTN. “There is a great deal of uncertainty in the market, making it difficult to trade.”
Political conflict in the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire in West Africa, also known as the Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa exporter, fueled the impressive run in cocoa prices from January through early March of this year.
Prices peaked at highs above $3,800 per metric ton on ICE futures U.S. on March 3, their highest levels since the 1970s, according to Flynn, with cocoa exports at a virtual standstill from the Ivory Coast, which supplies about a third of the world’s cocoa.
Alassane Ouattara, winner of the nation’s November presidential election, had imposed in January a ban on cocoa exports in an effort to dry up funds for incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to step down.
In the past month, cocoa prices have matched their impressive rally with an equally dramatic decline, dropping more than 20% since early March as traders bet that Ouattara will soon succeed in ousting Gbagbo and resume cocoa exports.
Cocoa for May delivery closed at $2,987 per metric ton on Thursday.
Around 475,000 to 500,000 metric tons of cocoa are at Ivory Coast ports, waiting for export, according to reports.
“With pro-Ouattara forces now [reportedly] in control of 95% of the country, that cocoa should be available to move, which is probably why May cocoa prices have fallen from $3,700 to $3,000 in the past four and a half weeks,” said Todd Hultman, president of DailyFutures.com.
But whether those cocoa stocks are still fit for export and when they might be released remains uncertain. News Hub: Ivory Coast president set to step down
WSJ's Peter Wonacott reports that while Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo is negotiating his resignation, even though he still insists he won the last presidential election.
“The resolution should allow newly harvested cocoa to be sold and increase the supply of product,” said Alan Knuckman, managing editor of Agora Financial’s Resource Trader Alert.
But “it will be interesting to watch price volatility from here to see if any further delays impact yield and quality of the crop,” he said. Read more of Knuckman’s thoughts on commodities.
Cocoa can be stored for years before its quality deteriorates as long as the storage conditions follow good practice, according to a February review of the cocoa market from the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO). “It is not known how much of this crop is salvageable, but certainly releasing the better quality beans would only intensify the downward price pressure,” Ed Meir, senior commodity analyst at MF Global, said in a monthly commodity overview issued Wednesday.
He pointed out that data from the ICCO also suggests that the current cocoa season will end with an estimated 119,000 metric ton surplus in cocoa stocks, compared with a 66,000 metric ton deficit seen last year.
Discounted prices
Some analysts, however, said cocoa may have fallen enough to spur buying again.
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684 11 Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org May cocoa dropped more than $200 per metric ton last week. On Thursday, the May contract lost another $12 even as Gbagbo continued to cling to power.
Volatility has recently been so high that ICE Futures U.S. may consider imposing circuit breakers on its cocoa futures market to prevent unwarranted volatility, according to a March 31 report from Reuters. Circuit breakers can halt trade at a certain level if prices experience extreme changes.
The Reuters report cited an interview with the exchange President Thomas Farley, but ICE was unable to confirm the information in the report for MarketWatch in time for this article.
Overall, “the cocoa market hasn’t been very liquid,” said PFGBest’s Flynn, pointing out that it needs more liquidity because less participation adds more volatility. But “cocoa might be worth trying from the long side now as it has fallen quite a bit in the past month or two,” said Jack Scoville, a vice president at the Price Futures Group.
“The view into the future remains somewhat tight as demand should hold its own against production or stay higher than production,” he said. “I also think we have factored in a lot of the potential for increased supply with the move lower that we have seen.”
Besides, “the political situation in the Ivory Coast is rarely stable,” said Newsom. “It would not be overly surprising to see investment money come back into the market, sparking a short-term price increase.”
Commodities, in general, are rallying, he said, and if the problems in the Ivory Coast persist, “traders could also bet on a short-term tightening of supply and demand.”
And those political problems are most likely to continue, even after a new leadership takes hold.
“The political and security risks associated with the post-Gbagbo outlook may currently be underappreciated,” Anne Frühauf, Africa analyst at Eurasia Group, said in a Wednesday note to clients.
“The security situation is likely to remain dicey and unpredictable in Abidjan for some weeks, while the western cocoa-producing regions may continue to suffer low-level conflict,” she said. Cocoa plays
So overall, despite the pull back in cocoa indicating the contrary, there are still strong reasons for prices to rally — and different ways traders can place their bets.
“Many variables still remain that could cause additional upside price shocks,” said Knuckman, adding that the $2,800 per metric ton level will likely hold for “a laggard commodity that still has significant upside potential.”
Scoville said the “purest way to play for a cocoa rebound is futures or options on futures.”
Other investment choices include the iPath Dow Jones-UBS Cocoa Subindex Total Return ETN (exchange- traded note) /quotes/comstock/13*!nib/quotes/nls/nib (NIB 42.56, +0.21, +0.50%) , which is down more than 1% year to date.
The ETN tracks closely with the commodity itself, said Newsom. He also said traders may also consider trading stock in Hershey Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!hsy/quotes/nls/hsy (HSY 55.63, -0.04, -0.07%) , but “it has a stronger inverse relationship to cocoa and NIB.”
On March 30, Hershey announced a weighted average price increase of about 9.7% for certain products, including packaged candy.
And taking a look at the bigger picture, cocoa may still have a long way to climb.
Knuckman pegged the all-time highs at $5,400 in 1977, so prices “would have to reach $19,500 if you adjust that price for inflation over the 30-plus year time difference,” he said. “Not that I envision that, but with the soft commodity complex making multi-year highs, [prices] still have significant upside to make real, new overall contract highs,” he said.
Asia Cocoa-Butter prices dip on soft demand; Indonesia harvest delayed Reuters Africa
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684 12 Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org By Fitri Wulandari Apr 8, 2011 JAKARTA, April 8 (Reuters) - Cocoa butter prices eased in Asia as chocolate makers have finished stocking up for the Easter holiday , dealers said on Friday, while heavy rain in Indonesia's main cocoa-growing areas of Sulawesi is likely to push back the start of its main harvest to end-April.
Malaysian and Indonesian grinders offered cocoa butter at 1.30 times against London futures <0#LCC:>, the lowest since mid-November and down from 1.35-1.45 times in early March as chocolate makers have enough butter stock to meet Easter demand.
"Butter ratios went down despite Ivory Coast's export ban, which many think will cause a shortage. It simply shows how weak the butter market is," said a regional dealer in Singapore. Butter prices are determined by applying a ratio to related contracts in London <0#LCC:>. The butter and London futures markets typically move in opposite directions.
Demand for butter -- the main ingredient for making chocolate -- was now in a lull as buyers are unlikely to buy in quantity until August/September, ahead of the Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, the dealer said.
ICE cocoa futures prices have fallen by one-fifth since hitting a 32-year high at $3,775 per tonne a month ago as armed conflict in top producer Ivory Coast may be drawing to an end, meaning a ban on the country's cocoa exports could be lifted. [ID:nN07213674]
ICE July cocoa CCc2 finished down $12 at $3,002 a tonne on Thursday.
Chocolates fly off the shelves in the main consuming regions of Europe and North America during Christmas at the end of the year, Valentine's Day in February, Easter in the spring and other holidays.
Prices for cocoa powder were steady at $4,700-$5,000 a tonne even though stocking for Easter has finished, as grinders tried to keep prices up to compensate for weak butter ratios.
As for beans, heavy rain in Sulawesi island is likely to delay the main harvest, which normally starts in the first week of April. "It has been raining heavily in the past few weeks in South and Central Sulawesi. There is a chance of pods falling from trees and black pods appearing," said an Indonesian dealer in Makassar, one of Indonesia's key ports for cocoa exports on Sulawesi island. "We expect the main harvest to be delayed until the end of April," he said.
Arrivals of cocoa beans from plantations to Makassar have been thin at about 500 tonnes a week, half the normal level at the start of the main harvest. Trading was also sluggish as buyers preferred to hold back shipments for now because of a rise in export tax in April, dealers said.
The trade ministry has raised the export tax on cocoa beans to 15 percent in April from 10 percent in March and set the base export price -- used to calculate the tax -- at $3,203 a tonne, which means exporters must pay $480.45 a tonne in tax compared to $320.00 in March.
"Big buyers like the United States will wait until next month. If the tax remains the same, they will have no choice but to buy beans to keep their factories running," said the Makassar dealer.
Sulawesi fair-average beans were offered at a discount of $500 a tonne for prompt shipment under ICE July cocoa CCc2, widened from $440-$450 a tonne in March after the increase in the export tax.
WEEKAHEAD
Dealers expect more butter could flow in to the market soon, which may put further pressure on butter ratios if Ivory Coast lifts its cocoa export ban.
Ivory Coast's presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara is expected to announce within days the end of a ban on exports of cocoa, of which the West African country is the world's leading producer, his U.N. envoy said on Thursday.[ID:nN07213674]
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684 13 Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org Cocoa beans are ground to get butter and cake, which is later processed into powder. Butter is also used to make spreads, soaps and cosmetics, while powder is used in chocolate making, beverages and ice cream.
Processing & Manufacturing
Cocoa Processing Company Opts For Cheap Cocoa Beans Peace FM Online 06-Apr-2011
The Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) has indicated that the use of local cocoa beans to produce chocolates is reducing the company’s profits.
Richard Armah Tetteh, Managing Director of the company, in an interview with Joy Business recently, said the high price of the produce is making it increasingly unprofitable to solely use local beans for production. “Worldwide, nobody processes only Ghana beans and makes enough profit margins because Ghana’s beans is the most expensive cocoa beans you can get anywhere in the world,” he stated.
According to him, he said it made business sense for the company to reduce its production cost by sourcing relatively cheap cocoa beans from any part of the world. He however said the company will not compromise on the quality of its products. The move forms part of measures the CPC is putting in place to improve its bottom- line.
The company last year registered yet another loss of GH¢12.5 million. Established in 1965, CPC, located in Tema, comprises three factories, two cocoa factories and a confectionery factory. Incorporated as a limited liability company on November 30, 1981, the shares of the company are publicly traded on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).
CPC has an annual throughput of 64,500 metric tonnes of premium Ghana cocoa beans which it processes into chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, cocoa cake and cocoa powder. These semi-finished products are the major ingredients for the production of chocolate and other cocoa-based food products.
The semi-finished products are sold under the Portem brand to foreign markets. The company however retains a portion of the semi-finished products for use in the Confectionery Factory. The Confectionery Factory manufactures chocolate bars, spread, drinking chocolate and dragees. The confectionery products are marketed under the brand name GoldenTree.
Malaysia Guan Chong 2011 Cocoa Grindings May Rise 62% -Executive Wall Street Journal By Surabhi Choudhary, Dow Jones Newswires APRIL 7, 2011, SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Major Malaysian cocoa processor Guan Chong Bhd. (5102.KU) aims to increase its cocoa grindings by 62% to 130,000 metric tons this year after its 60,000-ton-a-year Batam plant in Indonesia started output in February, the company's Managing Director said.
Global cocoa futures prices will likely remain volatile in the next few months and may ease from current levels once the political impasse in the Ivory Coast ends, Brandon Tay Hoe Lian said in a recent interview.
Intercontinental Exchange Futures cocoa is likely to find solid support at $2,500 a ton, as global demand is strong and supplies are tight, he said.
Business & Economy
Cocoa exports dropped 36.3 percent Jakarta Post 04/04/2011
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684 14 Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org Indonesian cocoa exports dropped 36.3 percent to US$92.79 million in January from $145.59 million in the same month last year.
Trade Ministry foreign trade director general Deddy Saleh attributed the decline to the implementation of a cocoa export duty in 2010.
The export duty had caused the increasing absorption of domestic cocoa by local processing firms, he said, as quoted kontan.co.id. He said, however, exports of cocoa products rose by 24.5 percent in January 2011 from the same period last year.
Looming release of cocoa good news for chocolatiers Medill Reports: Chicago By Jamie Coughlin April 06, 2011
Jamie Coughlin/MEDILL Raj Patel, owner of the Om convenience store in Chicago, says the cocoa price increase from the Ivory Coast conflict hasn't affected business yet, but he doesn't expect a break from rising chocolate prices either.
Ivory Coast political turmoil has been bad news for Chicago chocolate makers and retailers who rely on the cocoa bean to make their treats. But now they can breathe a sigh of relief because cocoa prices are slumping after spiking to a 32-year high in early March. The downward trend is expected to continue, experts say, if the leadership conflict ends soon.
The Ivory Coast, a small West African country, is the world’s top cocoa bean exporter. In late January Alassane Ouattara, the recognized winner of last fall’s presidential election, said the export of cocoa and coffee from the country would be suspended until former President Laurent Gbagbo surrenders his post. Cocoa prices spiked and hit a three-decade high in March. “Right now, there are 500,000 metric tons of cocoa ready for export basically sitting in a warehouse,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at PFGBest, a futures brokerage in Chicago.
Gbagbo is still refusing to leave even though Ouattara was declared the winner by both the electoral commission and the U.N. Ouattara ordered troops to oust Gbagbo from the presidential palace Wednesday. Stores of cocoa are expected to be released once the conflict ends.
May cocoa futures slid to a four-month low of $2,927 per metric ton Tuesday, a huge relief to chocolate companies. Prices hit a high of $3,775 in March.“It hasn’t yet translated into much, but it’ll help us in the second half of the year. We’ve got prices locked in through June,” said Bret Lorenc, the chief financial officer and general manager of Vosges Haut-Chocolat, a luxury chocolatier in Chicago.
Many chocolate makers already have hiked prices because of rising cocoa costs.
“All chocolate bars have gone up about 52 to 58 cents a bar wholesale price over the last year,” said Raj Patel, owner of the Om convenience store in the Clark-Adams building in the Loop. But rising prices for high-end chocolate may not deter affluent shoppers. A 16-piece collection of Vosges “exotic truffles” retails for $40 on its website. Although chocoholics may have to dig deeper into their wallets to satisfy their craving, they will probably still buy. The confection seems to be recession proof. The Hershey Co., the second-largest chocolate retailer in the U.S., has seen sales increase 10.5 percent since 2008.
Kraft Foods Inc. of Northfield, the world’s largest chocolate producer of brands such as Cadbury and Toblerone, declined comment on cocoa prices, but has said it is raising prices generally because raw material costs are rising.
For instance, a Toblerone bar retails for about $2.30, a jump of at least 35 cents, or about 18 percent, from the same period last year. “Our input costs were nearly $500 million higher in the fourth quarter than the same period a year ago,” said Michael Mitchell, a representative for the company, in an email Wednesday. Mitchell also said Kraft expects commodity costs to go up $700 to $800 million in 2011.
The jump in cocoa futures is indicative of a skyrocketing commodities market. And although cocoa futures prices are now dropping, the outlook for the commodity isn’t completely rosy. “The export ban in cocoa could
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684 15 Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org come to an end when this conflict comes to an end,” said Flynn. “But the problems that we saw with [Muammar] Gaddafi might have ended earlier, and we saw the prices in commodities fluctuate then.”
There is also some fear that humidity could have damaged the crop sitting in warehouses on the Ivory Coast, according to Flynn.
Indonesia, Ghana May Fill Cocoa Void Wall Street Journal By Neena Rai and Caroline Henshaw April 6, 2011,
LONDON—The conflict in top cocoa producer Ivory Coast could prove a boon for Ghana and Indonesia as farmers in the second-tier producers step up to meet any shortfall in supply.
Dealers fear cocoa output from Ivory Coast may decline next year from a bumper 1.3 million metric tons this season as the fallout of a power struggle has hindered farmers' access to financing and displaced up to one million people.
But analysts say supportive government policies in other major producers such as Indonesia and Ghana may help to boost cocoa supplies and compensate for any reduction in Ivory Coast output.
"The Ivory Coast will need to take urgent steps to revitalize the longer-term supply prospects for its cocoa industry to meet growing global demand and, more crucially, to support a key aspect of its economy," said Sudakshina Unnikrishnan, a commodities analyst at Barclays Capital in London. "Given structural weakness in the Ivory Coast's cocoa production outlook, a path is paved for countries such as Indonesia and Ghana, to fill the void," she said.
World cocoa markets are expected to post a surplus of 120,000 tons this year due to excellent growing conditions in West Africa, which supplies 70% of the world's cocoa, according to figures from the International Cocoa Organization.
A significant proportion of this is expected to come from Ghana, where farmers are on course to produce more than 850,000 tons of cocoa this year, according to Yaw Kuranchie, chairman of Ghana Cocoa Board, known as Cocobod. Cocobod is targeting annual production of more than one million tons in the next few years.
Indonesia, however, has had a poor crop year in 2010-11 due to heavy rainfall damaging output despite an increase in plantings. Dealers now estimate the country's output will be flat this year at 600,000 tons when the new crop hits markets in May.
Still, Jati Misnawi, senior researcher at the Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute, said government policies are targeting production of more than one million tons a year over the next five to 10 years. "The Indonesian government has launched two programs," Mr. Jati said. "The first, known as Gernas Kakao, is to increase the production and quality of cocoa. The second is to improve national grinding through export taxes." Mr. Jati said the government's program to boost cocoa acreage by 150,000 hectares is already bearing fruit, with some of the fast-growing trees planted two years ago now producing beans. Indonesia has 1.5 million hectares of cocoa plantations, mostly in the eastern Sulawesi island, with an extra 10,000 to 20,000 hectares of additional production due this year. "Government initiatives to replace ageing trees will see an increase in yields as well as planted area, allowing Indonesia to compete with Ghana, the world's second-largest producer," a report on Indonesian agribusiness from Research and Markets said.
The Ivory Coast conflict has driven world cocoa prices higher on worries about supplies, a situation that has already begun to reverse on news that incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo is negotiating his departure. But the decline in prices is unlikely to deter farmers. "Should prices continue to hover around the $3,000/ton range, it's an extremely attractive level to encourage production outside of the Ivory Coast," Barclays Capital's Ms. Unnikrishnan said.
Barclays Capital projects the average annual benchmark price for ICE cocoa futures to hit $3,266 a ton in 2011. On Wednesday, the contract for May delivery on the Intercontinental Exchange settled up 0.8% at $2,999 a ton.
ANALYSIS-Investment key as Indonesia eyes greater US cocoa exports Forexyard
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684 16 Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org By Michael Taylor April 07, 2011 JAKARTA, April 7 (Reuters) - Indonesia's cocoa industry is looking to grab a bigger slice of the U.S. market due to unrest in top producer Ivory Coast, but needs a review of an export tax, as well as more investment to boost quality and output.
Often regarded as a cheap source of low-grade cocoa, Indonesia has embarked on a series of programmes to improve quality, but faces serious obstacles including disease and a switch to alternative crops like palm oil.
Indonesia signalled its intention in talks with the United States on Tuesday, with the world's number three producer saying it aims to increase exports to the lucrative U.S. market by 10 to 15 percent. [ID:nL3E7F51M1] "We would expect a continued expansion outside the Ivory Coast," said Sudakshina Unnikrishnan, analyst at Barclays Capital. "Sadly, if we are to see a sizeable increase in terms of Indonesian production, then further investment is needed."
A violent political standoff brought the Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, to the verge of an all-out civil war, threatening the cocoa harvest and exports and pushing cocoa futures to a 32-year peak last month. [ID:nLDE7352EO]
The prospect of a resolution to the conflict has seen ICE cocoa futures
PROBLEM-RIDDEN
Trailing Ivory Coast and Ghana as a producer, Indonesia is currently carrying out a three-year government- backed industry revitalisation plan.
However, cocoa production in Southeast Asia's biggest economy is far from problem free.
Indonesian cocoa farmers have been battling the pod borer, worm-like creatures that eat cocoa beans and became a menace in 1999, as well as the spread of VSD, a fungal disease which attacked leaves, branches and tree trunks across key cocoa-growing areas of Sulawesi in 2008.
The poor quality of Indonesian cocoa makes the country's beans unsuitable for shipment to Europe, which puts a premium on top quality chocolate, with the bulk of material moved to Asian countries such as Malaysia for grinding. "Crop protection and fertiliser subsidies -- these are really the big things that would help out the local (Indonesian) farmers," said Hague. "Indonesia has had bad crops this year because of heavy rains. Their exports out of Sulawesi have been falling... It's not as good as the Ivorian."
Indonesian cocoa output is seen flat this year at 600,000 tonnes, as higher production from new planting offsets the impact of heavy rains, the Indonesian Cocoa Association, or Askindo, said.
About 90 percent of Indonesian cocoa growers are smallholders, which has limited the sector's expansion for decades. Many cocoa farmers have chosen to plant cheaper and more profitable crops, such as rubber or palm oil.
"Cocoa is a more difficult crop to grow than palm and is more prone to diseases," Chris De Lavigne, vice president of Industrial Practices at Frost & Sullivan, said.
"A lot of the old plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia were ripped out and re-planted by smallholders, who have turned to palm."
"These diseases and issues that cocoa faces can be dealt with, but the government needs to provide good support -- they (farmers) need the right feeds and a lot of training and education."
Cocoa crops start to mature around four years old.
U.S. MARKET SHARE
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684 17 Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org Although lagging bigger cocoa consumers in Europe, the U.S. cocoa market is seen as having enormous potential.
"In Europe people eat about 10 kilos per capita each year. The U.S. are well behind but growing very strongly," said Carlos Martinez, a marketer at Citigroup.
"They are moving away from low quality chocolate. In the next ten years (U.S. consumption) should double," Martinez said, adding that the U.S. imports about 400,000 tonnes of cocoa per year, mainly from Latin America.
Indonesian cocoa exports to the U.S. last year were about 90,000 tonnes, down from 120,000 tonnes in 2009, Dakhri Sanusi, secretary general of Askindo, said this week. "For 2011 I'm a bit pessimistic because of the implementation of the export levy," he added. "It is difficult to maintain the (current) level... Maybe it will be the same as last year."
The Indonesian government slapped an export tax for the first time on locally grown cocoa beans last April in an effort to encourage the retention of fermented beans for local refining in order to gain a premium in international markets.
At the moment, the poorer quality beans are traded at a discount as wide as $500 a tonne, while better quality West African beans enjoy a premium to futures prices.
Late last month Askindo said the export tax was diverting money that could be reinvested in plantations, while the scheme had not significantly boosted local grinding. [ID:nL3E7EN1JA] Askindo chairman Zulhefi Sikumbang said Indonesian producers needed to invest in new farming techniques and to improve output, but they have little access to capital and interest rates for loans were too high.
"There is a tonne of potential for Indonesia," said Frost & Sullivan's De Lavigne.
"But if you look at the average yields that Indonesia are getting, it's under half a tonne per hectare... You should be able to get at least a tonne if not a tonne and a half."
Ivory Coast’s Ouattara Asks EU to Lift Cocoa-Port Sanctions Bloomberg By Pauline Bax and Karl Maier – Apr 8, 2011 Ivory Coast’s President-elect Alassane Ouattara called on the European Union to lift sanctions against the key cocoa-exporting ports of San Pedro and Abidjan to revive an economy devastated by four months of conflict.
Speaking in a televised address late yesterday, Ouattara said his forces had blockaded the home of former President Laurent Gbagbo and that they were working to restore order and security to the West African nation, which is the world’s top cocoa producer. Ivory Coast has been locked in a violent political struggle since a Nov. 28 election. While Ouattara is the internationally recognized winner of the vote, Gbagbo, who ruled for a decade, refuses to cede power and remains bunkered in the basement of his Abidjan home. Ouattara’s troops, backed by United Nations and French airstrikes, have failed to flush him out. The president called for calm as he attempt to restore order.
“ I invite all my compatriots to refrain from acts of vengeance,” Ouattara said. “Ivorians from the north, the south, the east and the west, Ivorians of all faiths, whether you voted for me or not, I appeal to your sense of dignity and responsibility.”
UN-backed talks to agree a peaceful exit for Gbagbo broke down on April 6 and exile is no longer an option, according to Youssoufou Bamba, the Ouattara-appointed ambassador to the UN. Gbagbo must be captured alive and made to face justice, Xinhua cited Bamba as saying. Return to Normality
About a third of the country’s 2010-11 crop, or 440,000 tons, has been stockpiled near the port of Abidjan, the commercial capital. A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S, the world’s largest container-shipping line, has said it would be able to send vessels as soon as the EU lifted sanctions it imposed in January.
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684 18 Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org Cocoa futures for May delivery fell 0.4 percent to $2,987 a ton in New York yesterday.
“The Ivorian economy is very strong,” Bamba said. “As soon as the fighting in Abidjan will be over, everything will get back to normal very quickly.”
Ivory Coast’s defaulted $2.3 billion Eurobond slid 1.2 percent to 54.83 cents yesterday.
Ouattara asked the Dakar, Senegal-based Central Bank of West African States to reopen its offices in Ivory Coast to help restore a banking industry shuttered by the crisis and pay “salaries and arrears.” A 12 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew would be lifted on April 9, the president said.
The measures are meant to “allow for a progressive return to normality,” Ouattara said.
Last Chance
Residents of Abidjan have been shut in their homes since the pro-Ouattara Republican Forces entered the city on April 1 and began their last push to install their leader in office. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in Washington to meet with U.S. lawmakers at the Capitol, called on Gbagbo to step down quickly.
“He has to mind the well-being, safety and security and prosperity of his people,” Ban said of Gbagbo. “This is the last opportunity to gracefully exit from this.”
Bamba said Ouattara would move quickly to “form an open, inclusive government” that will be a “reflection of the legitimacy granted to him by the Ivorian people.” It will be “devoted to good governance, transparency, accountability and, of course, to peace and reconciliation,” he said.
Ouattara pledged to investigate all the allegations of human rights abuses committed during the civil war and bring all those found guilty to justice. “All the massacres and crimes will be brought to light” and “the authors of the crimes will be sanctioned,” he said.
Cameroon cocoa exports up 21 pct from year-ago Reuters Africa - Apr 8, 2011 YAOUNDE (Reuters) - Cocoa exports from Cameroon, the world's No. 5 grower, hit 186,305 tonnes by the end of March from the start of the season in August, up 21 percent year-on-year, according to official figures on Friday.
Some 2,215 tonnes were exported in March alone, according to the figures released by the Cocoa and Coffee Interprofessional Board and the National Cocoa and Coffee Board.
Cameroon shipped some 197,000 tonnes of cocoa during the full 2009-2010 season, down from a record 205,000 tonnes hit the previous year, and is targeting exports of more than 200,000 tonnes this season.
Cameroon's cocoa development authority, SODECAO, said this week it would distribute 5 million high-yield cocoa seedlings to farmers this year as part of an effort to more than double output by 2015.
Labour Issues
Environmental Issue
Ivorian cocoa weather good, crisis disrupts harvest Reuters Africa By Loucoumane Coulibaly Apr 4, 2011
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684 19 Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org ABIDJAN (Reuters) -Ivory Coast's weather last week was ideal for the development of the April-to-September mid-crop with both rain and sunshine, but political instability was disrupting the harvest, farmers and analysts said on Monday.
This year's mid-crop cocoa was expected to be larger compared with last season.
But a violent political standoff in the world's top cocoa producing nation after a disputed election that has rekindled a civil war is stopping farmers from going to their farms and many have fled the cocoa producing regions.
In the western region of Soubre, at the heart of the cocoa belt, one analyst working for an industrial plantation reported 22 millimetres of rain mixed with sunny spells adequate for the ripening and the proliferation of small pods.
However, farmers said the political trouble was preventing them from harvesting pods already ripe on trees. "There are lots of ripe pods. We want to harvest them, but we can not because there is no means of travel," Lazard Ake farms who farms in the outskirts of Soubre.
Soubre is one of the towns in the cocoa producing region of Ivory Coast, seized by forces loyal to presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara in their southward push. The forces now control over 90 percent of the country including the cocoa exporting port of San Pedro. "There is insecurity and some of the fighters are seizing people's cars and trucks. The quality of the cocoa will degrade if the ripe pods remain too long on the trees without being harvested," Ake said.
In the centre-western region of Daloa, producing a quarter of Ivory Coast's national output, farmers reported three good rains which would help cocoa beans.
Farmers said many growers have fled the town for the campaign fearing for their security. "The rain is good and all is well with cocoa," said farmer Marcel Aka. He added the many farmers have fled the city to go to the to the forest where they can find food easily.
In the southern region of Aboisso, analysts reported 37.7 millimetres.
"The weather is good but there is no one to buy the cocoa," said farmer Etienne Yao who added that many growers are not bothering to harvest.
Similar weather conditions were reported in coastal regions of Sassandra and San Pedro, in eastern region of Abengourou, in southern regions of Agboville and Divo and in western regions of Meagui and Gagnoa.
Research & Development
Promotion & Consumption
Others
COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684 20 Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org