IN SHORT: Ivory Coast 2011 cotton exports down

Exports of cotton from Ivory Coast totalled 95,732 tonnes from January to December 2011, down more than 44 percent compared with the same period the year before, provisional port data showed on Monday. The sharp fall was the result of a violent post-electoral conflict, which shut down exports for three months last year, traders said.
Most cotton is grown in the formerly rebel-held north, but the only ports for shipping it out are in the south, which was controlled by the administration they fought against during the first few months of the year.