The March-to-July period presents a recurring challenge for Ivorian coconut exporters. With European importers shifting their focus to mangoes during that time, and Ivorian exporters largely doing the same, the coconut trade enters a prolonged slowdown precisely when supply is at its peak. For Stéphane Djédji, Sales Manager at CICS, this is an opportunity to source Ivorian coconuts at lower prices.

The exporter says, “The March-to-July period is difficult every year. European importers are focused on mangoes, and so are most of our fellow fruit exporters here in Côte d’Ivoire. Demand from Europe, our main market, drops drastically during this period.”

© CICS

Within that constrained market, certain pockets of demand remain active, according to Djédji: “We still receive some orders from the Dutch market, which is the main hub for coconuts in Europe. But above all, it is the Mediterranean market, Italy in particular, that keeps things moving between May and August. West Africa also remains a consistent outlet for us.”
The seasonal decline in demand has a direct impact on pricing. “Every year at this time, prices drop,” Djédji explains. “The product is widely available, but there are few buyers, so farmgate prices fall, causing a ripple effect on selling prices in Europe. It’s a domino effect.”

CICS’s response to the summer slowdown is largely commercial: “Our biggest challenge at this time of year is finding where to sell,” Djédji says frankly. “We try to reactivate previous channels, hoping clients will take one or two containers, and we negotiate with our loyal clients to convince them to do the same, even when they’re deep into mango season.”

On the logistics side, the mango season also weighs on coconut exports. “Everyone is shipping mangoes at the same time, and mangoes require reefer containers, creating a shortage. Direct shipping lines between Côte d’Ivoire and Europe impose financial conditions that are sometimes out of our reach, requiring very high deposits to secure refrigerated containers. We rely on other competitively priced shipping lines, reroute through the port of Tangier, although that extends transit times from 11–12 days to anywhere between 18–24 days.”

For more information:
Stéphane Djédji
CICS
Tel: +225 07 07 22 50 98
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]
www.cics-ci.com