Cocoa production expected to dip eight percent

Production for the 2011/2012 cocoa growing season is expected to decrease by some eight percent compared with the year prior, totalling approximately 3.9 m metric tons, according to the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO). This estimate is nearly 30,000 metric tons less than the forecast made during the previous quarter, the organization reports.

Contributing to the lower estimates is a nearly 14 percent drop in production from African growing regions as a result of more typical weather conditions compared with the ideal growing weather experienced this past year, the ICCO reports. World grinds are expected to increase by 0.4 percent this year, reaching some 3.9 m metric tons, the organization says, adding the mild growth is a result of poor demand in Europe and North America.