ABIDJAN: Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast had reached around 1,598,000 tonnes by June 29 since the start of the season on October 2, exporters estimated on Monday, up from 1,322,000 tonnes in the same period of the previous season.
Exporters estimated around 26,000 tonnes of beans were delivered to the West African state's two ports of Abidjan and San Pedro between June 23 and 29, up from 24,000 tonnes during the same period last year.
However, while arrivals remained ahead of last year's levels, exporters said poor quality caused by weeks of heavy rainfall and small bean size had led to heavy rejection rates.
The week's arrivals were down significantly from the 35,000 tonnes of beans shipped to the ports the previous week.
"The rains are hindering proper fermentation and drying," said the commercial director of an Abidjan-based exporter. "At least a third of volumes arriving are rejected at the port due to quality."
The world's top cocoa grower is currently in the midst of its April-to-September mid-crop harvest.
"We'll have to wait for the end of the rains to see good cocoa," said the director of another Abidjan-based exporter. "We may see 20,000 tonnes (per week) on average in July if the farmers struggle to properly prepare their beans, because no one wants to buy bad quality."
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