Ivory Coast Oct-Dec cocoa output seen down 20-25pc

ABIDJAN: Ivory Coast expects a 20 to 25 percent drop in its cocoa output in the first three months of the season from October to December, two sources at the marketing board said on Tuesday.

The world's leading cocoa growing produced 937,764 tonnes of cocoa in October to December in 2016, CCC data shows. The full cocoa season runs from October to September.

The CCC sources also said Ivory Coast will end forward sales of its 2017/18 cocoa crop in August, a month earlier than originally planned, and limit total volumes auctioned to 1.25 million tonnes. The sources said Ivory Coast had already sold 1.205 million tonnes in forward contracts.