Cocoa futures gain as Ivory Coast rains slow harvest, delivery

Cocoa futures in London extended gains as heavy rains in top grower Ivory Coast hamper the new season harvest and the delivery of beans to ports, the latest threat to global supplies.

“The rains surprised everyone because it is not the time of the normal rainy season,” Julien Gonkapieu, a farmer in western Ivory Coast said. “The waters have not receded. Roads are still inaccessible to transport cocoa beans from plantations to collection centers.”

The most-active contract rose as much as 2.3% to £5,200 a ton in London. Near-term supply of beans remains tight after a massive shortage in the last season sent prices soaring to record levels. The new season, which started October 1, was expected to ease supplies.

Authorities in Nigeria, Togo, Benin and Ghana have warned residents to be prepared after record-breaking rains hit the adjacent Sahel region last month, killing 1,000 people and affecting more than 5 million across West and Central Africa.

Here’s a roundup of farmers’ comments across the rest of West Africa:

Ghana

So far, the rains are helping growers in the second-largest producer of the chocolate-making ingredient.

The harvest season is going well, and these rains will help us have more pods to harvest by the mid-crop season in the middle of next year, a farmer in the southwest said.

Nigeria

The rains have resulted in black pod disease damage to matured pods in the southwest.

Cameroon

Farmers have intensified spraying their farms to prevent the spread of black pod in some areas.

However, a mix of rain and sunshine in the northern part of the Center production zone is allowing for the harvest and development of healthy pods, according to one farmer.

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