Cocoa Exports From Ivory Coast’s San Pedro Port Yet to Resume After Ban

Ivory Coast’s western port at San Pedro has yet to resume cocoa exports after the end of a post- election crisis that halted all shipments in March, the harbor authority said.

“For the moment, loading cocoa ships has not yet resumed,” according to a statement e-mailed from the harbor today.

Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest cocoa producer, saw shipments of beans plummet after President-elect Alassane Ouattara banned exports of cocoa and coffee in a bid to starve his rival,Laurent Gbagbo, of funds.

Gbagbo, who clung to the presidency for more than four months after losing a November election to Ouattara, was captured in Abidjan, the commercial capital, on April 11. The ban was lifted four days later and the ports resumed work on April 18.

San Pedro’s shipments of rubber dropped 75 percent to 2,149 metric tons in March, while exports of palm oil rose 47 percent to 20,929 tons, according to the statement.

(Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-27/cocoa-exports-from-ivory-coast-s-san-pedro-port-yet-to-resume-after-ban.html)