(Ecofin Agency) - Côte d’Ivoire’s Coffee and Cocoa Council sold 170,000 tons more cocoa than it expected during the auction of the main crop, two senior officials of the institution told Reuters last March 1.

According to the sources, the CCC auctioned export permits estimated at 1.53 million tons of cocoa but is now forecasting an output between 1.36 and 1.38 million tons of the bean, due to bad weather and smuggling. This is a record for the council which used to auction 70-80% of the output since 2012.   

“Today, the goal is to identify the problems that affect the current marketing and find solutions, but we know that certain (ed: exporters) seem to be inflexible about respecting contracts,” said one of the CCC officials.

As the director of an export company was interviewed by Reuters, he said: “We are facing a novel situation where the council is in default vis-a-vis certain exporters who hold contracts but don’t have beans”.

 Reuters reports that exporters are expecting the CCC to postpone non-completed contracts for next campaign, or simply cancel them and pay a penalty.

“It’s up to the council to make proposals, but some of our clients in Europe want their cocoa now that the price is high, which complicates matters,” another exporter said.

In addition to this unprecedented situation, the CCC is facing difficulties that have already led to a decline in cocoa shipments to ports.

Espoir Olodo