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In Côte d’Ivoire, local exporters complain that they cannot find enough beans to buy from producers. And fear not being able to honor their contract.
Ivorian exporters are still seeking to acquire 120 to 150,000 tonnes of cocoa to be able to honor the commitments they have made to their customers. But impossible, at the moment, to find beans, assures one of them, before adding: ” I know some who haven’t even bought a kilo for several weeks ».
Is this lack of beans artificial and maintained by intermediaries who store, seeing prices rise on the international market? This is one of the possibilities, assures an observer of the sector, who confirms that arrivals at the port have surprisingly fallen for two to three weeks.
A tighter market than usual
Some exporters think that the explanation is to be found on the side of the Coffee and Cocoa Council, which allegedly ” perhaps a little oversold his production “, said one of them, while the harvest, certainly abundant, is below forecasts. Each year, the CCC estimates the production before selling it to international and local exporters responsible for marketing it. But the CCC always keeps a margin of maneuver to compensate for any crop failure. It is enough that this room for maneuver decreases for “ that there is no more slack in the market “, explains a trader, and that the beans become less accessible for operators who have less network and less cash than the multinationals.
An explanation that the regulatory body does not endorse. The CCC claims not to have oversold its harvest: “ Everyone must therefore be able to complete the campaign in good conditions. “, explains Yves Brahima Koné, the general manager.
Fewer regular beans, more certified beans
Another observation of Ivorian exporters: ordinary beans have become rarer than certified beans sold at a slightly higher price. Producers have clearly chosen to route their cocoa through labeled cooperatives to get a better price. However, certified cocoa is mainly purchased by multinationals. The volume of labeled fake cocoa that is marketed is impossible to quantify, but the phenomenon is accentuated when cocoa becomes rarer, assures an expert, and thus contributes to the lack of ordinary beans in the territory.
Fear of a delivery or quality defect
The Coffee and Cocoa Council wants to be reassuring and reminds that exporters still have until March 31, the end of the main harvest, to make their purchases. ” And if by then they haven’t fulfilled their contract, we have solutions », assures the general manager. The regulatory body has several levers: it can in particular postpone the date by which exporters must have honored their contract and therefore paid their tax to the State. It can also ask the factories of the largest grinders to limit their stock of beans to leave more cocoa in circulation for those who have difficulty obtaining supplies.
Arrangements which will not prevent the exporter from being penalized by his client for a late delivery or a delivery of lower quality beans. ” Who will pay for this discount ? asks a local operator.