Speaking to reporters in the Ivory Coast's capital Abidjan, Gilbert N’Guessan Anoh, president of the National Management Committee for Coffee and Cocoa which manages the cocoa sector, said: “At the start of the harvesting season in October, I told you that there would be a decline, and the decline is a fact,” reports news agency Reuters.
Signs late last year that the harvest from the world's biggest cocoa producer would be lower than in 2007/8 have led to consistent upward pressure for the price of cocoa on international futures markets.
In London last week, benchmark futures for delivery in July this year traded at £1,720 (€1,909) per tonne. Although bullish, this figure compares to the margin-squeezing highs of £2,000 (€2,133) a tonne clocked up in January this year, and when prices crashed through the $3,000 (€2,263) a metric ton in June 2008.