Ivory Coast president Alassane Ouattara has announced that he will not run for a third term, ending months of speculation. Ouattara had previously argued that his past and current term would not count towards term limits outlined in the country’s newly adopted constitution.

The move comes as a relief to many, given the background of civil strife surrounding previous elections. Worries have recently been exacerbated with the International Criminal Court’s acquittal of former president Laurent Gbagbo.

There is no shortage of official and presumed aspirants to the Ivorian presidency, including former rebel leader and president of the National Assembly Guillaume Soro, who remains abroad after the issuance of an arrest warrant alleging his participation in the planning of an armed insurrection.

Ouattara is expected to back a member of his administration, Amadou Gon Coulibaly, for the presidency in the October election.

Cocoa arrivals from October through February are estimated near 1.55 MMT, up about 1 percent YOY. Arrivals in the last week of February were reportedly up about 20 percent from the same week a year ago.

Ivory Coast cumulative cocoa arrivals


Source: McKeany-Flavell trade sources
Posted by: Information Services
Our Information Services team assists our clients with understanding commodity and ingredient market dynamics. Using our extensive database of intelligence, we also produce regular commodity and commercial market publications covering supply and demand fundamentals, news alerts on events that shape the markets, and resource guides to give you a complete picture of the industries we monitor.