Shipper dispute cuts Ghana cocoa exports
A dispute over port fees slashed Ghana's cocoa exports to 33,000 tonnes in November from 90,000 tonnes in October, but talks are underway to resolve the impasse, the head of cocoa regulator Cocobod said on Wednesday, Reuters reports. "Our cocoa shipments are going out but at a slower pace because our major shippers are not loading due to differences between them and the port authorities," Tony Fofie, head of Cocobod, told a news conference.
He said representatives from Ghana's government, the port authority and Cocobod were meeting with the shipping companies on Wednesday to find a solution. Ghana is the world's second-largest cocoa grower behind Ivory Coast.
"I am going into the meeting now, and it is my hope that we will all sit down and resolve this - even if it means suspending the charges for now," Fofie said.
Several large shipping companies, including Safmarine, A.P. Moller-Maersk and Delmas were reported to be disputing a port handling fee introduced earlier this year and were refusing to load cocoa in protest.
Cocobod's Fofie also expressed worry about falling cocoa prices in the world market, saying the drop was affecting Cocobod's plans and budgeting for the season.
"We did a forecast of about $3,000 a tonne, but currently it's now far lower than that and we are worried that it could continue to plummet," he said.
However, Cocobod has no plans to hedge its cocoa exports, Fofie said. "That is a policy decision for the government to take, but for now we don't have any such plan."
Ghana posted a record cocoa harvest over 1 million tonnes during the 2010-11 season and is forecasting a decline to between 850,000 and 900,000 tonnes during the current season.
Fofie said Cocobod was set to launch a nationwide rehabilitation of cocoa farms with improved farming techniques to help keep future crops over 1 million tonnes.
"We are ready and we are expecting the president to launch the programme early next year," he said, adding that the project would include free distribution of seedlings to starters as well as to existing farmers.
Cocobod had said it will provide some 20 million seedlings free for planting over a five-year period.
He said representatives from Ghana's government, the port authority and Cocobod were meeting with the shipping companies on Wednesday to find a solution. Ghana is the world's second-largest cocoa grower behind Ivory Coast.
"I am going into the meeting now, and it is my hope that we will all sit down and resolve this - even if it means suspending the charges for now," Fofie said.
Several large shipping companies, including Safmarine, A.P. Moller-Maersk and Delmas were reported to be disputing a port handling fee introduced earlier this year and were refusing to load cocoa in protest.
Cocobod's Fofie also expressed worry about falling cocoa prices in the world market, saying the drop was affecting Cocobod's plans and budgeting for the season.
"We did a forecast of about $3,000 a tonne, but currently it's now far lower than that and we are worried that it could continue to plummet," he said.
However, Cocobod has no plans to hedge its cocoa exports, Fofie said. "That is a policy decision for the government to take, but for now we don't have any such plan."
Ghana posted a record cocoa harvest over 1 million tonnes during the 2010-11 season and is forecasting a decline to between 850,000 and 900,000 tonnes during the current season.
Fofie said Cocobod was set to launch a nationwide rehabilitation of cocoa farms with improved farming techniques to help keep future crops over 1 million tonnes.
"We are ready and we are expecting the president to launch the programme early next year," he said, adding that the project would include free distribution of seedlings to starters as well as to existing farmers.
Cocobod had said it will provide some 20 million seedlings free for planting over a five-year period.
