June 24, 2019//-Shipments increase to 11,001 tons from 9,518 tons in April and 5,894 tons in same month last year, according to data compiled by ports and shipping agents in commercial hub.
Europe was the top destination with 8,865 tons, or 80.6% of the country’s shipments in May; Netherlands imported 4,179 tons, Germany 3,000 tons and Belgium 1,486 tons
Total exports to Asia accounted for 2,136 tons, mainly to Indonesia and Malaysia
Supply from farmers has “dwindled considerably” in last three weeks, Segun Oluwaji, MD of Woodgate, a cocoa-exporting company based in Akure, the capital of Ondo state in Nigeria’s south west, said by phone
Farmers, particularly in the south-east, have stopped further plucking of matured pods on trees due to lack of sunshine to dry harvested beans, he said.
Cocoa-butter exports for May totaled 1,245 tons, 12% lower than April, but more than double the 495.7 tons shipped in May last year.
Germany, Estonia and U.K. were the main importers of cocoa butter.
In 2018, access to ports was hampered by traffic gridlock which impacted exports.
Nigeria ranks fifth among global producers; has two cocoa-harvesting seasons, the smaller mid-crop from April through July, and main crop from October through December.
Bloomberg
