Cocoa farmgate prices in Ivory Coast were mainly up last week, supported by grinders' purchases and firm port prices, while continued smuggling gave some support to prices in eastern regions, farmers said on Thursday. In the eastern region of Abengourou, average prices per kg rose to 755 CFA francs ($1.59) from 722 CFA the previous week, Coffee and Cocoa Bourse (BCC) figures showed, while prices in the south-eastern region of Aboisso rose to 670 CFA from 636 CFA.
But farmers said many of them were selling their beans at 900 CFA francs per kg over the border to Ghanaian buyers. "Prices are up. The competition is fierce, because so many farmers are selling to the Ghanaians," said Denis Kablan, who farms near Abengourou.
Daily newspaper Le Patriote said on Wednesday about 9 tonnes of cocoa beans going to Ghana had been seized by gendarmes in the region of Aboisso this week. An accurate average price was not available for the western region of Soubre, but farmers said prices were 650 CFA per kg to 750 CFA, up slightly from 650 CFA to 700 CFA the previous week, as local grinders were intensifying buying. "We can see 750 francs per kg because the cocoa is of good quality at the moment, so the factory owners have bought a lot," said farmer Lazare Ake. Arrivals are currently running around half last season's, because farmers have been holding back their beans in anticipation of a rise in prices.
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