"Africa\u2019s Cocoa harvest falling short just when needed most"

" Africa\u2019s Cocoa harvest falling short just when needed most \r\n\r\nThe new cocoa harvest in West Africa\u2019s most important growers looks set to disappoint, just when the world desperately needs more beans.\r\n\r\nFarmers in Ivory Coast are about to start reaping the so-called mid-crop, the second and smaller harvest of the season in the top producer and neighboring countries. But the incoming haul will do little to soothe a rattled market that\u2019s crying out for more supply and making chocolate more expensive.\r\n\r\nPrices have spiked to a record as bad weather and disease hurt African output, fueling a scramble to secure supplies. For now, the market needs fresh crops to ease a global shortage. But the mid-crop is also a reminder of a longer-term issue for farmers in Ivory Coast and Ghana \u2014 where the government tightly controls prices. Without better pay to invest in outdated plantations, they have little incentive to produce more in the years ahead, extending deficits.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe need at least double the current producer pay to keep farmers on their farm,\u201d said Michael Acheampong, who oversees more than 1,500 growers from Kwarbeng, north of Accra in Ghana. Some are even selling land for gold mining as a low government price \u201cdoesn\u2019t make cocoa growing a viable business.\u201d\r\n\r\nHere\u2019s a summary of the situation in the region\u2019s largest producers:\r\n\r\n Ivory Coast \r\n\r\nThe regulator expects the mid-crop \u2014 often reserved for local processors \u2014 to shrink at least 17% to between 400,000 and 500,000 tons, Bloomberg reported in early March, citing people familiar with the forecast. Bean arrivals to export ports are almost a third behind last year\u2019s pace after a poor main crop.\r\n\r\nThe nation last year set prices for the main crop at 1,000 CFA franc ($1.65) per kilogram, roughly a sixth of what New York futures are now trading at. Farmers \u2014 who don\u2019t benefit from changes in market prices because they\u2019re set each season by the industry regulator \u2014 are asking for more pay for the new mid-crop.\r\n\r\nBut the regulator has proposed keeping prices the same as the main crop, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified.\r\n\r\n\u201cThis year, due to the shortage of beans, there was a bidding war which did not really benefit the farmers,\u201d said Jacques Kouakou, who heads a cocoa cooperative. \u201cWe hope for a good price for the mid-crop season.\u201d\r\n\r\nRegulator Le Conseil du Cafe-Cacao didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment.\r\n\r\n Ghana \r\n\r\nThe No. 2 grower\u2019s mid-crop starts in about July, but is already looking bad. Farmers may collect just 25,000 tons, compared with an earlier forecast for 150,000 tons, people familiar with the matter said. Smuggling to neighboring nations where prices are higher has also tightened supplies.\r\n\r\nThe country\u2019s regulator is also facing funding challenges that could make it harder to finance farmer pay and help growers buy seeds and fertilizers. Still, President Nana Akufo-Addo last month pledged to raise farmers\u2019 pay for the season that starts in October.\r\n\r\n Cameroon and Nigeria \r\n\r\nGrowers here benefit almost immediately from market rallies, rather than being tied to government-set rates \u2014 with prices in those nations at least tripling in the past year.\r\n\r\nRecent rain has revived hopes for Cameroon\u2019s mid-crop that runs through July, though more showers are needed in the coming months and it\u2019s probably too early to say if the harvest will beat last year. For the full season, the National Cocoa and Coffee Board said output should rise slightly to almost 300,000 tons.\r\n\r\nNigeria\u2019s mid-crop will end later than usual due to delayed rain, and could reach 76,500 tons, its cocoa association said. While slightly more than last year, it\u2019s below an earlier estimate of 90,000 tons and the outlook for the full-season has been cut."

"Africa\u2019s Cocoa harvest falling short just when needed most"

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