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Benjamin · 01-11-2004, 19:08

COTE D IVOIRE: Cocoa production to decline by six percent

ABIDJAN, 3 Oct 2003 (IRIN)

Cocoa production in Cote d'Ivoire, the world's leading producer, is expected to decline by six to seven percent this year as a result of the country's one-year political crisis, the Ivorian Cocoa and Coffee Board has said.

The board, which declared open the 2003/2004 season on Tuesday, said its projections showed that production would drop from the 1.3 million MT produced during 2002/2003 to about 1.2 million MT during 2003/4.

The board also set a new minimum price of 385 FCFA/kilo, down from 625 FCFA/kilo (US $1= 600FCFA) that farmers got last year.

The Ivorian political crisis started on 19 September 2002, when mutinous soldiers attempted to stage a coup against the government of President Laurent Gbagbo. The coup failed, but the rebellious soldiers seized control of chunks of country's northern and eastern areas.

French troops were deployed to keep the two fighting sides apart, leading to a stop in fighting in January. However the country has effectively remained divided between rebel-controlled north and government controlled-south.

Officials at the Ivorian ministry of agriculture and the national union of farmers said at the height of fighting, several major producing villages and towns in western Cote d'Ivoire became battle grounds.

Last year's output exceeded over one million despite the outbreak of conflict in September 2002, because the main harvesting campaign took place before the war.

It still fell short of the best production in recent times, which was more than 1.4 million MT that was harvested in 1999/2000, but was higher than the 2000/2001 production.

"The 2001/2002 increase was because farmers harvested 90-95 percent of the crop during the "big" campaign before the war," Amadou Coulibaly, spokesman for the agricultural ministry, told IRIN on Tuesday. "A small campaign from September to November took place at the height of the war, producing five percent."

This year, however, officials said production has also been affected because many manual labourers who used to work the cocoa farms fled the cocoa-belt in the wake of the war. These included both Ivorians and nationals of other West African counties like Burkina Faso.

"Less labourers means less production," industry experts said in the economic capital Abidjan, which is also the main cocoa export city.

Cocoa and coffee were the main stay of the Ivorian economy between 1960-1975, when the newly independent country relied solely on the two crops for foreign exchange earnings. The country has fallen in coffee ranks, but still produces 40 percent of the global output.

Last year, Cote d'Ivoire earned nearly 1.2 billion FCFA (US $2.1 million) from cocoa, a slight increase from 2001 when the crop generated about 1.12 billion FCFA (US $1.9 million).

Close to six million people in Cote d'Ivoire depend on cocoa and coffee. The cocoa industry, once entirely controlled by the government, was privatised in 1998 when the the Cocoa and coffee Pice Stabilisation Fund (Caistab) was dissolved.

Four new organisations were created to manage the sector, namely Cocoa-Coffee Regulation Authority, the Coffee and Cocoa Bourse, the Fund for Regulation Control and the Fund for Development and Promotion of Cofee-Cocoa production activities.

01-11-2004, 19:08	#132
Benjamin TBB Family Registriert seit: Mar 2004 Beiträge: 10.374	COTE D IVOIRE: Cocoa production to decline by six percent ABIDJAN, 3 Oct 2003 (IRIN) Cocoa production in Cote d'Ivoire, the world's leading producer, is expected to decline by six to seven percent this year as a result of the country's one-year political crisis, the Ivorian Cocoa and Coffee Board has said. The board, which declared open the 2003/2004 season on Tuesday, said its projections showed that production would drop from the 1.3 million MT produced during 2002/2003 to about 1.2 million MT during 2003/4. The board also set a new minimum price of 385 FCFA/kilo, down from 625 FCFA/kilo (US $1= 600FCFA) that farmers got last year. The Ivorian political crisis started on 19 September 2002, when mutinous soldiers attempted to stage a coup against the government of President Laurent Gbagbo. The coup failed, but the rebellious soldiers seized control of chunks of country's northern and eastern areas. French troops were deployed to keep the two fighting sides apart, leading to a stop in fighting in January. However the country has effectively remained divided between rebel-controlled north and government controlled-south. Officials at the Ivorian ministry of agriculture and the national union of farmers said at the height of fighting, several major producing villages and towns in western Cote d'Ivoire became battle grounds. Last year's output exceeded over one million despite the outbreak of conflict in September 2002, because the main harvesting campaign took place before the war. It still fell short of the best production in recent times, which was more than 1.4 million MT that was harvested in 1999/2000, but was higher than the 2000/2001 production. "The 2001/2002 increase was because farmers harvested 90-95 percent of the crop during the "big" campaign before the war," Amadou Coulibaly, spokesman for the agricultural ministry, told IRIN on Tuesday. "A small campaign from September to November took place at the height of the war, producing five percent." This year, however, officials said production has also been affected because many manual labourers who used to work the cocoa farms fled the cocoa-belt in the wake of the war. These included both Ivorians and nationals of other West African counties like Burkina Faso. "Less labourers means less production," industry experts said in the economic capital Abidjan, which is also the main cocoa export city. Cocoa and coffee were the main stay of the Ivorian economy between 1960-1975, when the newly independent country relied solely on the two crops for foreign exchange earnings. The country has fallen in coffee ranks, but still produces 40 percent of the global output. Last year, Cote d'Ivoire earned nearly 1.2 billion FCFA (US $2.1 million) from cocoa, a slight increase from 2001 when the crop generated about 1.12 billion FCFA (US $1.9 million). Close to six million people in Cote d'Ivoire depend on cocoa and coffee. The cocoa industry, once entirely controlled by the government, was privatised in 1998 when the the Cocoa and coffee Pice Stabilisation Fund (Caistab) was dissolved. Four new organisations were created to manage the sector, namely Cocoa-Coffee Regulation Authority, the Coffee and Cocoa Bourse, the Fund for Regulation Control and the Fund for Development and Promotion of Cofee-Cocoa production activities.