Cocoa Supplies to Outpace Demand By 187,000 Tons, ICCO Says

Cocoa supplies will exceed demand by 187,000 metric tons in the 2010-11 season that started in October, up from a previous estimate of 119,000 tons, according to the International Cocoa Organization.

The production estimate was increased to 4.025 million tons from 3.938 million tons, the London-based ICCO said in a statement today. World output will rise 11 percent from the previous year, led by an increase in production from Ghana, the world’s second-largest grower, the organization said in a separate report e-mailed today.

Grindings were increased to 3.798 million tons from 3.78 million tons, the highest on record, it said. Cocoa processing activity is expected to increase by almost 9 percent in Asia and Oceania and 3 percent in Europe, the ICCO said.

Ghana’s crop will be a record 960,000 tons, boosted by “conducive weather conditions, new farms coming into production, improved farm husbandry, increased fertilizer application and boosted farmer incentives,” the ICCO said.

Output in Ivory Coast, the world’s largest producer, will rise to 1.3 million tons, up from 1.242 million tons in the previous season, following the country’s political crisis earlier this year.

The size of the country’s mid-crop, the smaller of two annual harvests, may be reduced by security and logistical concerns, the ICCO said. The mid-crop was expected to be 300,000 tons, according to the report.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-02/cocoa-supplies-to-outpace-demand-by-187-000-tons-icco-says-1-.html