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Bean disease affects 81% of major cocoa region in Ghana

Published

4 months ago

July 20, 2024

The International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) reports that 81% of a significant cocoa-producing region in Ghana, the second-largest cocoa grower in the world, is affected by swollen shoot disease.

Due to unfavourable weather and disease in leading cocoa-producing countries, Ghana and Ivory Coast, prices for the ingredient used in chocolate have nearly doubled this year.

However, expectations are growing for better production the following season. About 60% of the cocoa produced worldwide is produced by the two nations combined.

The data on bean disease in Ghana’s Western North, the country’s third-largest cocoa-producing region by output, cast doubt on hopes for a production rebound partly because they show how severe the outbreak is still.

Usually, within a few years, the swollen shoot virus first lowers yields before killing trees. Cocoa cannot be replanted until the sick trees are removed and the soil is treated.

The ICCO reports that 330,456 hectares of Ghana’s 410,229-hectare Western North region are contaminated. The intergovernmental agency was using information from Ghana’s cocoa sector regulator, Cocobod, through its Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED).

At an industry gathering in April, Joseph Aidoo, the chief executive of that industry regulator, said Reuters that 500,000 hectares nationwide—or 25.7% of Ghana’s 1.94 million hectares of cocoa-growing land—were afflicted.

He claimed that an additional 100,000 hectares are unproductive because of old trees and that the nation has already treated an additional 100,000 hectares, opening a new tab for swollen shoot. Replanted trees require two to four years to reach maturity and yield beans following rehabilitation.

“Swollen shoot is a serious problem that’s not improved in the last 12 months and is not going away,” said Steve Wateridge, a veteran world expert on cocoa and head of research at Tropical Research Services by Expana.

The Ivory Coast’s authorities have been more cautious about disclosing the full scope of the outbreak to the public, but the ICCO said that swollen shoot is also spreading there. Wateridge previously informed Reuters that the infection probably affected up to 30% of Ivorian cocoa plants.

Ghana usually produces more than 800,000 tons of cocoa annually, but due to smuggling, disease, aged trees, illegal gold mining, and climate change, it is predicted to produce just over half that amount this season.

Related Topics:Cocoa Cocoa bean Featured Ghana

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

1 day ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.

VenturesNow

Dangote refinery begins petroleum sales to West Africa

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an indication to traders that the activities of its mega-refinery might soon disrupt regional fuel markets, Nigeria’s private Dangote Petroleum Refinery has started exporting refined petroleum products to neighbouring West African nations.

According to a Bloomberg story on Tuesday, a tanker had transported a consignment of petrol from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to seas off the coast of Togo, a nearby West African nation. The article cited data from Vortexa, Kpler, Precise Intelligence, a port report, and a ship-tracking tool.

According to the source, a CL Jane Austen recently departed west after loading over 300,000 barrels from Dangote.

Recall that Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Authority, stated last month that the nation is thinking of purchasing petroleum products from the Dangote refinery in order to reduce the approximately $400 million it spends each month on more costly exports from Europe.

Speaking at the OTL Africa Downstream Oil Conference in Lagos, the chairman of NPA, Ghana, said that by eliminating freight expenses, buying from Nigeria instead of Europe will lower the cost of other products and services.

“If the refinery reaches 650,000bpd a day capacity, all that volume cannot be consumed by Nigeria alone, so instead of us importing as we do right now from Rotterdam, it will be much easier for us to import from Nigeria and I believe that will bring down our prices,” Hamid said.

Two weeks ago, it was announced that the refinery would start exporting fuel to Namibia, Angola, and South Africa. Four more African nations—Niger Republic, Chad, Burkina Faso, and Central Africa Republic—had also begun talks with the refinery, it was said.

According to a very reliable source who spoke directly to one of our reporters, the management of the refinery with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day was in the advanced stages of negotiations with the nations to begin lifting petroleum.

“I can confirm to you that talks are actually at the advanced stage with Ghana, Angola, Namibia, and South Africa, while the initial discussion is coming up with Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, and the Central African Republic,” the source said.

The petroleum product shipment is currently floating off the coast of Lome, which is a well-liked location for ship-to-ship transfers, according to the source.

Furthermore, the final destination of the cargo of the CL Jane Austen is uncertain.

Despite being off Togo, the region is frequently utilised for ship-to-ship transfers, thus the gasoline may eventually be transported elsewhere.

“While the shipment is tiny in the context of the global gasoline market, it signals the ramp-up of Dangote’s production and the potential to export significant volumes of gasoline beyond Nigeria, which could upend regional markets.”

Last month, the refinery sent its first shipment of petrol by sea to Lagos, a neighbouring commercial centre.

Under the regulatory statute, the Federal Government last month terminated the state-owned oil company’s monopoly on purchasing gasoline from the plant for domestic use, but it has permitted the ongoing importation of fuel from the US and Europe.