Cocoa farmgate prices in Ivory Coast's main growing regions were stable to slightly higher last week as local buyers began to build stock ahead of the mid-crop but balked at paying more for poor quality beans, farmers and buyers said on Wednesday.
In the centre-west region of Daloa, which produces a quarter of Ivory Coast's total national output, farmers said the average price was about 500 CFA francs ($1.00) per kg, up from 350 to 400 CFA ($0.70 and $0.80) the previous week as several local buyers started accumulating stocks.
"The prices have climbed a bit. There are people looking to buy and store in order to sell on when the mid-crop really gets going. The beans aren't very good quality, but they're taking them anyway," said Attoungbre Kouame, who farms near Daloa.
In the western region of Soubre, in the heart of the cocoa belt, farmers said the average prices rose to between 500 CFA and 550 CFA, compared with 450 CFA to 500 CFA the previous week as buyers for grinders were active.
"The buyers for grinders are not stopping. They still want lots of cocoa," said Lazare Ake, who farms in Soubre. "The buyers are still complaining about the quality. But looking at the pods on the trees and their (current) size, they know the quality will improve over the next two weeks."
In the western region of Duekoue, farmers said the average price remained unchanged at around 500 CFA francs as buyers were reluctant to pay more for poor quality beans. "The current quality of the beans doesn't allow us to make much money," farmer Amara Kone said.
A purchasing manager from a European cocoa exporter said the average delivery price at the port of Abidjan was about 750 CFA per kg versus 750-780 the previous week.
"There's no good cocoa right now. We're rejecting a lot of deliveries, but we hope that there will be acceptable quality next month," said the manager, who asked not to be named.