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Ivory Coast: Regulator cautions cocoa exporters against overpaying for beans

Published

8 months ago

March 13, 2024

The market regulator for cocoa in Ivory Coast has cautioned cocoa exporters against paying more than the required amount for beans that are supplied to their facilities at the ports of the top-growing nation. Violators risk fines and license revocation.

With Ivorian arrivals anticipated to be down more than 28% from the previous season, Ivory Coast and Ghana, the country’s second-largest producer, are seeing their poorest harvest in years.

As a result of the shortage of supply, prices in New York and London have reached all-time highs.

In a document sent to industry participants, the Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) stated, “This situation has led to a frantic race to buy beans.” “It has recently been observed that licenced exporters are overpaying for cocoa.”

Prices throughout the rest of the cocoa supply chain are fixed, and overpaying is prohibited; however, farmers are permitted to make more than the minimum amount established by the CCC.

“The multinationals have been very aggressive,” the director of a European exporter told Reuters. “The grinders pay up to 1,500 CFA francs ($2.51) per kilogramme, whereas we’re authorised to pay a maximum of 1,095 CFA francs.”
The CCC also warned cooperatives and up-country buyers against holding onto beans, saying they were required to sell their stocks to exporters within 21 days of acquiring them.

“Non-respect of this measure exposes the offender to the confiscation of stocks and the suspension of access to the purchasing system,” the CCC wrote.

When the CCC regulated price scale is about to increase, cooperatives and buyers frequently stockpile beans. Although cocoa prices have reached all-time highs globally, the regulator will not alter its price scale for the mid-crop harvest, which is scheduled to begin next month, according to sources.

Even though the World Bank estimates that agricultural accounts for 4% of global GDP and up to 25% of GDP in some LDCs, the continent’s unpredictable and harsh climate makes it challenging to maximise the benefits of agriculture.

While there is a lot of rain falling in the West African region, North and East Africa are struggling with drought.

Related Topics:Cocoa Featured Ivory Coast

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VenturesNow

Food prices drive second straight monthly hike in Nigeria’s inflation

Published

3 days ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to official statistics released on Friday, Nigeria’s inflation rate increased for the second consecutive month in October, rising to 33.88% in annual terms from 32.70% in September, mostly as a result of increasing food costs.

In an attempt to boost economic development and strengthen public finances, President Bola Tinubu devalued the naira and reduced subsidies, which caused inflation to spike in the second half of last year.

As the effects of the naira devaluation started to lessen in July of this year, a slew of hikes in the price of petroleum and devastating floods that destroyed crops once again exacerbated pricing pressures, making the greatest cost-of-living crisis in decades worse in Africa’s most populous country.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, price increases for basics such as rice, maize, bread, potatoes, and cooking oil prompted food inflation to surge from 37.77% in October to 39.16% year over year.

This year, more than 1.5 million hectares of agriculture have been damaged by torrential rain and floods in 29 of Nigeria’s 36 states, leaving millions hungry and displacing large numbers of people.

In an effort to curb inflation, the central bank has raised interest rates five times this year. On November 26, it is expected to make its final rate decision of the year.

VenturesNow

MTN financial report reveals drop in group service revenue

Published

3 days ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Due to operational difficulties in Sudan and the depreciation of the Nigerian naira, MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecom provider, announced on Thursday an 18.5% decline in service revenue for the third quarter that concluded on September 30.

With 288 million users in 17 African regions, MTN said that its group service revenue dropped from 156.3 billion rand ($6.99 billion) in the same quarter of the previous year to 127.4 billion rand.

Despite stating that “the naira was less volatile on a sequential basis in Q3 than in preceding quarters,” the business reported a 48.7% decline in MTN Nigeria’s income due to the currency’s depreciation.

Due to a stronger Ugandan shilling than the previous year, Uganda’s largest contributor, MTN South Africa (MTN SA), expanded by a meagre 3.3%.

Due to “subscriber registration regulations in Nigeria and a decline in users in Sudan, where the conflict has displaced millions of people,” the business reported that its subscriber base increased by 1.6% to 288 million.

Given the higher demand in Nigeria despite the legal obstacles, MTN plans to increase its capital expenditures, which it expects would total between 28 and 33 billion rand for the entire year.