Ivory Coast is on track for a record cocoa harvest in the 2018/19 season of 2.2 million tonnes, up from about 2 million tonnes last season, due to favorable weather and new plantations, farmers, exporters and middlemen told Reuters.
The main cocoa crop, which runs from October to March, is expected to hit a record 1.7 million tonnes, up from 1.5 million tonnes last season.
Arrivals at Ivorian ports increased in October by 46 percent since the beginning of the season, compared to the same period last season. “I don’t know what’s happening but there is so much cocoa this year that even I am surprised,” said a buyer in the western town of Guiglo, quoted by Reuters.
Stephen Platt, futures specialist at Archer Financials, said that despite high production he expected cocoa prices to be supported by strong demand and a potential weakening of the dollar. He explained that the market is still pretty well-balanced, looking at a modest surplus. “My own suspicion is the crop looks good, but I think that if we start seeing some weakness in the dollar, that should start to underpin the market.”