Ivory Coast Cocoa Processing Up 46.6% in September, GEPEX Says

The September jump is striking, but the modest cumulative gain suggests timing shifts in when beans were crushed rather than a structural surge in demand. That distinction matters for anyone tracking West African supply flows into global chocolate and ingredient chains, since the six GEPEX members named — Barry Callebaut, Olam and Cargill among them — anchor the region's grinding capacity. With national capacity at 750,000 tons, the open question is whether the seasonal pace holds or simply pulled forward volume from later in the campaign.