Amsterdam's cocoa sector is apprehensively following the news from Ivory Coast. The Dutch capital not only boasts the main trans-shipment port for this commodity, but many of the cocoa-processing companies in and around Amsterdam also have staff stationed in the African country, which has been in a state of crisis since November's presidential elections.

One cocoa multinational simply refuses to comment, while a spokesperson for another major Amsterdam cocoa company did not want to be interviewed. “We are under a lot of stress; we don’t want anything to happen to our people over there.”

Multinationals
Ivory Coast produces 40 percent of the global cocoa supply, making it the number one producing country. About 17 percent of global production finds its way to Amsterdam, the world’s premier cocoa trans-shipment port. All multinationals involved in processing cocoa beans into powder and cocoa butter have factories near Amsterdam. The political tensions between former president Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to step down, and his rival Alassane Ouattara, who won the elections, have seriously rattled the Amsterdam cocoa sector.

Prices
The price of cocoa beans has shot up in the past few weeks, says Bob Stuurman a cocoa trader and partner in the Huyser Möller trading firm.

“I think that the price of cocoa is at present about 5 to 10 percent above normal levels. There is insecurity about the exports of cocoa and the semi-manufactured products produced there. It is difficult to give an estimate of the drop in export volume, but it’s causing unease among traders and factories. Particularly among the processing companies because they operate plants both in Amsterdam and Ivory Coast.”

Stable supply
And yet the crisis has so far had no noticeable effect on cocoa shipments to Amsterdam. The port of Abidjan is still operating normally and, if necessary, the country could always export its cocoa beans via Liberia and Togo. One of the Amsterdam spokespersons says that much of the country’s cocoa production was shipped via Togo during the 2002-2003 civil war. Bob Stuurman admits that the higher price of cocoa cannot be blamed on supply issues.

“The higher market prices are partly the result of speculation, a repercussion of the nervous situation. I don’t think there is a physical shortage of cocoa, neither in port, nor in the factories. However, people are worried, because we are in the middle of the main harvest season. How will the situation develop? On the other hand, Ivory Coast has an enormous interest in continuing the exports, simply because it needs the money."

Civil war
So there appears to be little chance of cocoa exports being interrupted as happened in 2004. Ivory Coast has built its future almost exclusively on cocoa and no longer exports just the beans.

“The investments of the past ten years have turned Ivory Coast into a main processor of cocoa. In terms of volume, the country is almost at a par with the Netherlands. And if you look at its planned investments, it will most likely overtake us in the near future. So in that sense it’s a major branch of industry.”

And yet, Amsterdam has no reason to feel threatened as a major link in the cocoa production chain. Ivory Coast can only process its own beans. The high-quality products manufactured in Amsterdam require subtle blends of beans from various countries. And whoever becomes president in Ivory Coast, he will not neglect the extremely important cocoa industry.