COCOA prices offered the nation's farmers declined as mold
induced by heavy rains reduced the quality of the chocolate
ingredient, said Socodevi, an organisation working on
improving crops in Nigeria.
Farmgate prices in the Cross River belt dropped by eight per
cent to N440,000 ($2,714) a tonne, compared with N480,000
at the end of July, Neji Abang, country coordinator for
Socodevi, a Quebec City, Canada-based organization, said
in a telephone interview yesterday from Ikom in Cross River
state.
"High mold caused by heavy rains affected crop quality,
leading to lower pricing of beans by exporters," said Abang
who is training farmers in the country on how to raise
output and bean quality. "The mold level is as high as 21
per cent, compared with three per cent that is
internationally acceptable."
The Cross River region produces about 75,000 tonnes of
cocoa yearly, out of a national output of 300,000 tonnnes.
Cocoa exports from Nigeria rose by 41 per cent to 8,990
tonnes in July, compared with a month earlier, the nation's
Federal Produce Inspection Service, which certifies exports,
said yesterday.
Abang said: "We are asking farmers to reduce unwanted
branches to enable sunlight to penetrate their farms for the
main crop harvest."
The main crop harvest in the southern Edo state, accounting
for 15 per cent of the nation's output, has been slowed by
mold of up to 30 per cent, owing to the rains, Aminu
Yakubu, spokesman for the Cocoa Farmers Association of
Nigeria, said in a separate interview in Benin.
The rainy season, which runs from May to October in the
area, has brought heavy precipitation this month, he said.
In Ondo State, the highest producing state which is
responsible for as much as 40 percent of the nation's
output, mold levels are up to 20 per cent, making it difficult
for farmers to dry beans, Adeola Adegoke, chairman for the
farmers' association, said in a separate interview in Akure.
Farmgate prices in the area are between 450,000 naira and
500,000 naira, he said.