(Bloomberg) — Ivory Coast raised its cocoa harvest forecast for 2024-2025 by up to 10% following a new pod count last month.

The world’s top producer of the chocolate ingredient will harvest between 2.1 million and 2.2 million tonnes in the season that began in October, according to people familiar with the data, who asked not to be identified because they are not known. not authorized to speak publicly. about the question.

In June, production was estimated at 2 million tonnes, a rebound after bad weather and disease reduced production to 1.8 million tonnes in 2023-2024, according to estimates by the International Cocoa Organization.

The Café-Cacao Council, regulator of the sector, completed its last count of pods before October, the sources said. This optimism comes from favorable weather conditions for harvesting until September 2025.

A CCC spokeswoman did not respond to phone calls and text messages seeking comment.

Meanwhile, heavy rains have hit Ivory Coast over the past two weeks. Although this disrupts cocoa harvesting and transport in the short term, it could ultimately benefit production.

©2024 Bloomberg LP