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For anyone currently watching cocoa markets, this statement might sound familiar: “It’s a complete mess at the moment. I wish Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire would talk and listen”. But why the accusatory stance on these producing countries? Cut to the chase and US chocolate-maker, Hershey’s, is expected to take delivery of a large volume of
Food and fertiliser importers will have to source foreign exchange independently of the central bank as part of efforts to stem forex outflows and narrow Nigeria’s trade deficit. The country’s trade deficit widened to NGN 178.2 billion in June 2020, the largest in over 15 years. Nigeria spent 16 percent of its total import bill
Questions over the CFA franc’s peg to the euro; and XAF/XOF parity A Franctrade survey suggests that the CFA franc’s peg to the euro will remain a major theme for business and industry leaders in the region in 2019 with many participants taking the view that a devaluation of the currency is now
Most of the CFA franc zone countries in both central and west Africa are currently considered to be at moderate risk of debt distress. Of the remaining four, three are deemed to be at high risk of debt distress–Cameroon, the Central African Republic and Chad; while Senegal is at low risk. None of the countries profiled is
By Sona Ebai Jr. Opinion: Despite billions of CFA francs being spent to train farmers, more action to achieve good quality beans is needed with fierce urgency. The Cameroonian government plans to pay farmers a premium totaling up to 1 billion FCFA (US$ 1.8 million) to enable them produce higher
Franc view: The combination of tighter supply, rising demand and positive short-term technicals (the RSI appears deeply oversold) suggest cocoa prices will not return to the doldrums of 2017. The Ball Cocoa’s glittering rise, from $1,809/tonne on December 22, 2017 to a high of $2,914/tonne on May 1, 2018 (NY futures), was reminiscent of the
A mammoth deal: Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s top producer and exporter of cocoa, has issued a $2.1 billion Eurobond, in what is the biggest recorded euro issuance from an African government. The maturity of the bond is split, with tranches due in 2030 and 2048. Market data indicate this is the second biggest EUR Eurobond offering
Efforts are underway in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) to merge the Douala Stock Exchange (DSX) with Libreville’s Central African Bourse (BVMAC) after years of lacklustre activity. Prospects for the merger had been raised following a decision by the regions’ Heads of State in October 2017 with a steering committee now expected
A tale of two cities We share two intriguing headlines from the past two weeks with our readers. The first suggesting “the Anglophone crisis may prolong…Q1-2017 GDP contraction” the second reading “Investors have an expensive habit of downplaying unquantifiable politics”. The first quote is culled from Bloomberg Intelligence’s brief on Cameroon while the second is
