Ivory Coast Jan-June cotton export surges

ABIDJAN: Exports of cotton from Ivory Coast totalled 176,319 tonnes from January to June, up about 227 percent compared with the same period last year, provisional port data showed on Tuesday.

Analysts said the rise was due to a resumption of cotton shipments from regional neighbours, who traditionally export via the port of Abidjan, as well as deliveries from the cotton campaign currently under way in Ivory Coast.

A post-election conflict in Ivory Coast last year hindered shipping operations for over four months.

Ivory Coast's annual cotton output was around 400,000 tonnes before a 2002-2003 civil war plunged it into nearly a decade of crisis, halving cotton production as a result.