Following the lifting of economic sanctions on Côte d'Ivoire, cocoa exports from San-Pédro and Abidjan-the economic lifeblood of Côte d'Ivoire-are set to resume. Since the imposition of a ban on foreign buyers from exporting cocoa from Côte d'Ivoire, nearly 500,000 tonnes of beans have built up in warehouses in San-Pédro and Abidjan. An additional 150,000 tonnes is believed to have accumulated in the interior, where farmers have been unable to sell their crop owing to instability. Following the lifting of the ban the world's leading cocoa companies announced their intention to resume purchases and exports of Ivorian beans, and the two largest shippers of Ivorian cocoa- France's CMA CGM and Denmark's Maersk-have sent ships to Côte d'Ivoire with a view to resuming exports.

However, many obstacles must be overcome before exports can resume. These include restoring security in Abidjan and San-Pédro, repairing damage to the logistics infrastructure, reopening banks and re-establishing lines of credit, and ironing out a new tax and customs regime. Mr Ouattara has already replaced the chiefs of the customs and tax administration, as well as the head of the cocoa management committee, and cocoa stockpiles need to be checked for any signs of deterioration over the past two months. Nonetheless, cocoa buyers remain hopeful that exports will resume by mid-May, although it will take several months to clear the backlog, as both ports can together export a maximum of 150,000 tonnes per month.

Of greater concern is the fate of the current mid-crop, estimated at 200,000 tonnes. Although rains have been ideal, many farmers were driven from their farms by the violence and it remains unclear how much of the crop has been harvested. Coupled with concerns over next season's crop-which currently lacks inputs and financing-this has kept international prices high.