Ivory Coast cocoa crop delay raises export concerns

Source: Reuters | FILE PHOTO: A worker fills a sack with cocoa beans as he prepares to gather unsold stocks of cocoa at the warehouse of Sekou Dagnogo, an independent cocoa buyer, in Fengolo, Ivory Coast, February 11, 2026. REUTERS/Luc Gnago/File Photo

The Coffee and Cocoa Council, the regulator in the world's largest cocoa-producing country, said last week that Ivory Coast was ready for the new rules.

However, two sources from the council and five exporters said they expected congestion at the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro in November and December, with storage capacity potentially coming under strain.

The main cocoa crop has been delayed by difficult weather conditions, insufficient farm maintenance and the strength of the mid-crop, which delayed development of the main crop. One source estimated the main crop would be delayed by eight to 10 weeks.

“With this looming delay, we will find ourselves having to export enormous quantities in a short period in December,” an executive at a European export company in Abidjan said.

One of the two cocoa council officials said the body would do everything possible to minimise the impact.

Although the main season is due to begin on 1 September, the sources said weekly arrivals were expected to remain below 15,000 metric tons in September and 25,000 tons in October.

Main-crop volumes should begin arriving in late October or early November and increase through December, they said.

The cocoa council expects total arrivals from the main crop, beginning from September and ending on 28 February 2027, to be no more than 1.4 million tons. Exporters forecast between 1.4 million and 1.45 million metric tons.

About 900,000 tonnes of cocoa are expected to reach Ivorian ports between October and December 2026, compared with an updated 1.1 million tons during the same period in 2025. Typically, the ports receive between 800,000 and 1 million tonnes over those three months.