The planting of cocoa and the mid-crop harvest in Nigeria will face disruptions due to warnings from the Nigeria Hydrological Service Agency (NIHSA) about severe flooding in the country’s primary cocoa-producing regions, according to a Bloomberg report.
Joseph Utsev, the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, announced in Abuja on Wednesday that the states susceptible to flooding include Ondo, Cross River, Osun, Oyo, Ogun, Taraba, and Delta.
These areas are responsible for 94% of Nigeria’s production of cocoa, a key ingredient in chocolate.
Mufutau Abolarinwa, President of the Cocoa Association of Nigeria, earlier stated in February that the country, which ranks as the fifth-largest cocoa producer worldwide, anticipates a reduction in its cocoa output for the 2023-24 season.
Originally projected between 280,000 and 300,000 tons, the forecast has now been adjusted to 225,000 tons due to adverse weather impacting harvests.
Expected flooding from April to November could exacerbate these challenges, deepening a global cocoa shortage that has already pushed futures to unprecedented highs.
This issue is compounded by similar struggles in Ivory Coast and Ghana, the top cocoa producers, who have also experienced reduced yields due to harsh weather and diseases.
The cocoa season in Nigeria starts in October with the larger main-crop harvest and continues with the smaller mid-crop harvest, which concludes in June.
TheTimes earlier reported that Cocoa futures climbed back above the $10,150 level on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in New York, stabilizing below the record highs set earlier this week, amid plans by Nigeria to increase its production.
