Customs workers in the Ivory Coast – the world’s top exporter of the beans which are made into chocolate – continued striking today, preventing the export or import of most goods, including cocoa shipments. Despite this supply disruption, cocoa futures dropped sharply today.
On the Liffe, cocoa futures for September delivery slid 2.84 percent to £2,132 per metric ton ($3,348) On the IntercontinentalExchange, Cocoa futures for September delivery dropped over 3 percent to $2,923 per metric ton.
Apparently, the prospects for an improved cocoa crop from the Ivory Coast outweighed the short-term disruption of the striking customs officials, reported Bloomberg.
The strikers complain that they have not been paid monthly bonsues of $70 that they are meant to receive.
“All goods have been blocked, which includes cocoa,” strike leader Michel Delihisson told Bloomberg News over the phone. Delihisson is the secretary general of the Union for the Defense of Rights for Customs Officers. “If any cocoa is leaving the country, it will be cocoa that hasn’t been certified by customs.”
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