Lagos, November 21, 2008 - Nigeria's cocoa exports fell by 12 percent to 9,786 tonnes in October from the same period last year, data from the Federal Produce Inspection Service (FPIS) showed on Friday.
The FPIS is the government agency that certifies cocoa and other farm produce as fit for export mainly to Western markets, where the beans are used for making such things as chocolate, ice cream, cakes, liquor, cosmetics and beverages.
October is the first month of the main crop in Nigeria, the world's No.4 cocoa grower, where output has seen a steady increase in the last three years.
Industry experts have said the actual exports could be much higher than the official figures because some exporters do not make full disclosure of their cargoes at the ports.
Exporters have estimated some 20,000 tonnes of cocoa arrived at Lagos in October but much of that volume has not been shipped because of declining international prices.
The global economic crisis has subdued commodity prices, while a surging U.S. dollar has slashed profit margins for Nigerian exporters, a number of whom did not ship any beans last month.
"The global cash crunch affected the market, the price was very unstable and some people actually lost money due to the minimal increase in futures trading," Robo Adnuze, a commodity analyst told Reuters.
A sizeable amount of beans is smuggled across Nigerian borders by exporters trying to take advantage of lower port charges in neighbouring countries.