Ivory Coast’s cocoa grind dropped 31.2% year-on-year in July to 39,301 metric tons, data from exporters’ association GEPEX showed on Monday. Grinders blamed the fall on poor bean quality and low volumes from the mid-crop.
From the start of the 2024/25 season in October until the end of July, total grind stood at 515,055 tons. This was down 4% from the same period last season.
“July’s grinding has fallen dramatically this year compared to last year, mainly due to the quality of the beans,” said the director of an international grinding company in San Pedro. “They are mediocre this year, so we are rejecting a large quantity due to a lack of fat and high acidity.”
Between April 1 and August 17, cocoa bean arrivals at Ivory Coast’s two main ports of Abidjan and San Pedro reached 350,000 tons. That was down 30% from around 500,000 tons during the same period last year, exporters said.
Exporters added that grinders have no stocks left. They will need to rebuild them to return to the average grinding rate during the main harvest.
“We are waiting for October to get good beans to rebuild all our stocks and return to the grinding level for the period,” said the director of a grinding company in Abidjan. “This means just over 58,000 tons per month. We will need to be aggressive in our purchasing from the start of the season.”
GEPEX data covers six of the largest grinding companies. These include Barry Callebaut, Olam, and Cargill Inc.
Ivory Coast has a total grinding capacity of around 750,000 tons. It is the world’s top cocoa producer and competes with the Netherlands for the leading spot in grinding.
