Heavy Rains Cut Access to Ivory Coast Port

Road damage caused by weeks of heavy rainfall is hampering access to top cocoa grower Ivory Coast's port of San Pedro, threatening to cause congestion at the port Abidjan as it moves to take up the slack, exporters said on Friday.

Located in the west near the main growing regions, San Pedro - traditionally Ivory Coast's second port - has emerged in recent years as the primary export point for Ivorian cocoa. Last season it shipped 55 percent of the country's output, according to the Coffee and Cocoa Council.

The main road linking San Pedro to Soubre, Duekoue, Guiglo and Meagui - among Ivory Coast's most productive cocoa regions - has been closed since last week when flooding created sinkholes that swallowed large segments of the tarmac.

The road closings have already had a major impact on arrivals to San Pedro.

"According to our figures, there have been around 7,500 tons of arrivals to San Pedro this week, compared to an average of 18,000 in the previous weeks," one exporter told Reuters.

Most exporters have operations at both of Ivory Coast's ports, and merchants are now redirecting trucks to Abidjan. However, they said the situation was not sustainable.

"There is a risk of congestion if San Pedro can no longer play its role, because Abidjan cannot export all of Ivory Coast's output on its own," said the commercial director of an Abidjan-based exporter.

The principal coastal road linking San Pedro and Abidjan has also been heavily damaged by the rains.

Contacted by Reuters, Ivory Coast's national highway agency, Ageroute, said it was unclear when the two roads would again be fully operational.

Ivory Coast is in the midst of its April-to-September mid-crop harvest. And while arrivals remain well above last year's levels, they are expected to begin tapering off later this month.

Next season's main crop opens in October.

"The road (to Soubre) is vital for us," said a San Pedro-based exporter. "We don't know how long this will last, but it has to be sorted out before October."