News agency Reuters reported that Cote d’Ivoire cocoa exporters were close to defaulting on their contracts and urgently needed up to 150,000 tonnes to honour their commitments.

Citing sources including from the domestic traders' lobby GNI and the group which represents exporting cooperatives, Reuters mentioned a meeting that was hosted Friday by the Cocoa regulator.

Among different options, the Cocoa and Coffee Council allegedly proposed pushing back the loading period for the contracts of struggling exporters to June, so as to enable them to buy beans during the mid-crop harvest.

Last November, the Anouanze cooperative, which helps farmers bring their crops to markets, sounded the alarm, saying their small-scale cocoa producers were hurting because of changing rain patterns blamed on the climate crisis.

Cocoa farming employs nearly 600,000 farmers in Cote d’Ivoire, ultimately supporting nearly a quarter of the country's population, according to the Coffee-Cocoa Council.

Cocoa production accounts for 15 per cent of the nation’s GDP.