(Ecofin Agency) - Is the Ivorian cocoa production finally paying its dues to the recent Harmattan? It would seem so according to the information revealed Reuters by a source from Ivorian Finance Ministry. The official who asked not to be named said cocoa output for the 2015-16 season will be around 1.6 million tons.

In case this scenario reveals true, Cote d’Ivoire’s output for the period would fall by about 200,000 tons from 1.8 million tons the previous season. It would be the first time, in a few years, that the country fails to beat its production record. Regarding cocoa sales, Reuters indicates that 850,000 tons were pre-sold and that government aims to bring that figure to 1.2 million tons.

The government said it will do all it can to revise price to producers, which currently is at FCFA1000/kg. Asides, Cote d’Ivoire’s cocoa will also have to overcome the quality challenge it currently faces which translates into beans being smaller and more sour than usual due to Harmattan. Subsequently, exporters are reticent about purchasing the beans. “Given the actual quality of the beans, we are not interested in buying for now. Let’s see how things turn out by June,” one of the exporters said.

Aaron Akinocho