(Ecofin Agency) - In Côte d'Ivoire, local cocoa purchases dropped as the bean quality does not comply with required standards, Reuters reported.

Indeed, while the Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) sets a maximum bean number of 120 per 100 grams of cocoa for the mid-crop, many local buyers based in Daloa, Sinfra, Vavoua and Issia reported their purchases regularly exceed this limit.

“We are increasingly receiving bean counts of 125, 130 and 135 beans. We cannot do anything with this because exporters at the ports refuse them,” said Alidou Konate, a Daloa-based trader.

Some traders said they had reduced their cocoa purchases by a third, while others said they would stop buying until the start of the upcoming 2018/19 season. The situation also impacts the volume of cocoa butter, which is the ingredient that gives chocolate its texture. According to ICCO monthly report on cocoa market, the cumulative volume of purchases in the main Ivorian ports since the beginning of the 2017-2018 season has reached 1.81 million tons through July 15. A figure slightly below the stock the same period last year (1.86 million tons).

Espoir Olodo