Ghana likely to boost 2010-11 cocoa forecast

Ghana's cocoa regulator Cocobod will probably raise its cocoa production forecast for the 2010/11 season due to good growing weather and enhanced farming techniques, its deputy director said on Tuesday.

Increased output from the world's second-largest cocoa grower will contribute to a widely-expected global supply surplus this year and could help compensate for shortfalls from neighbouring Ivory Coast, where political turmoil and underinvestment threaten exports.

"Definitely it's going to more than the 700,000 tonnes that we were anticipating," Yaw Adu-Ampomah, Cocobod's deputy chief executive in charge of agronomy and quality control, told Reuters Insider in an interview.

"Right now our researchers are in the field gathering information so all that I can say is that we'll definitely get the 700,000 tonnes and beyond, and until they come back from the field, we'll not be able to tell the exact figures."

Declared cocoa purchases in Ghana hit 376,303 tonnes in the first seven weeks of the season, about 41 percent higher than in the same period last year, Cocobod data obtained by Reuters on November 30 showed.

The current main crop, which began on October 1, is expected to last about 33 weeks, to be followed by the 11-week minor light crop which is sold to local processing firms.

Adu-Ampomah said enhanced agricultural practices, including disease and pest control, and good rainfall so far this season were the main factors boosting the crop.

"We have several interventions that have started yielding results," he said. "First, the rains have been very good. We also put in a lot of inputs -- fertiliser -- and we're also stepping up control of pests and diseases."

Farmers are also removing mistletoe from their plantations, which Adu-Ampomah said is an effective way to boost yield.

SMUGGLING SLOWS, SACKS ARRIVE

Adu-Ampomah said smuggling of Ghana's beans into neighbouring Ivory Coast and Togo had slowed dramatically since last year due to improved border security measures.

But demand for higher-quality Ghanaian beans was still driving some illegal smuggling operations.

"It's because Ghana's cocoa is of high quality and there are desperate traders out there who are bent on mixing their stocks with our premium beans," he said.

Some 100,000 tonnes were smuggled to Ivory Coast during the 2009-10 season, causing Ghana to miss its official buying target and leading Cocobod to boost its fixed buying price.

Adu-Ampomah also confirmed reports of a shortage of jute sacks at cocoa buying centres that threatened to hinder the flow of beans to market, but said new sacks had arrived.

"There was a slight delay in the importation of jute sacks but right now the situation is under control," he said, adding that a lot of sacks had arrived over the weekend and were being cleared for distribution to buyers.

He said the shortage would not significantly set back the trend of harvest and shipments.

"It's true there were serious shortages but we have corrected it. We are definitely in charge and in control of the situation now," he said.

Ghana has set a target of producing 1 million tonnes of cocoa per year by 2012 -- a level that would put it close to knocking Ivory Coast out of first place among world growers.