Cocoa Crisis Hits Top Grower's Exporters as Banks Curb Loans

  • Ivory Coast’s local shippers lose share to foreign exporters
  • Lenders curb exposure to cocoa sector after Saf liquidation
Cocoa fruit sit on the ground during harvesting on a plantation in Agboville, Ivory Coast.Photographer: Jose Cendon
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Domestic shippers in the world’s top cocoa producer are losing market share to foreign-backed competitors as exporters become ensnared in the fallout of the liquidation of Saf-Cacao.

Cocoa shippers in Ivory Coast are struggling to raise finance for the buying and storing of beans as lenders curb their exposure to the sector. Stung by about 150 billion CFA francs ($261 million) in unpaid debts by Saf-Cacao, formerly one of the biggest cocoa exporters before a court ordered the company’s liquidation in July, banks have curtailed their lending to minimize the risk of accumulating further losses.