Panic selling seizes Ivorian cocoa farmers

Ivorian cocoa farmgate prices fell last week for the fourth week in a row as supply from plantations overwhelmed lacklustre export demand, leading farmers to fear further price declines and sell even more aggressively.

Cocoa bean quality from the world’s top grower nation also declined as plantation owners rushed their beans off to market before they were ready.

“Many farmers want to sell fast instead of properly drying the beans because they are afraid the price will keep falling,” said Abel Konan, who farms near the centre-west region of Daloa, where about a quarter of the Ivory Coast crop is grown.

He said prices in the region had dropped to 500 CFA francs ($1.00) per kg last week, from 550 CFA the week before.

Ivorian cocoa prices have fallen more than 60 percent so far this season, triggering as much as 40,000 tonnes worth of smuggling to Ghana where prices are kept stable and leading Ivory Coast to boost border security.

Many Ivorian farmers had stockpiled beans early in the season in the hopes of an improvement in prices but are now being forced to sell into a weakening market due to a lack of cash ahead of the holidays.

World cocoa futures are also tumbling due largely to global economic uncertainty, which has cast gloom over projected chocolate demand.