Lagos, May 25 - Nigeria's Oct-March 2008/09 cocoa main crop exports fell 12.43 percent to 116,778 tonnes compared with the same period of the previous season, data from the Federal Produce Inspection Service (FPIS) showed on Monday.
But on a monthly basis, Nigerian cocoa exports climbed nearly 25 percent year-on-year to 12,106 tonnes in March, the FPIS data showed.
The FPIS is the government agency that certifies cocoa and other farm produce as fit for export, mainly to Western markets.
The main crop runs traditionally from October to March in Nigeria, the world's number four cocoa grower, and usually comes in at 220,000 to 240,000 tonnes a year when weather conditions are good and chemicals readily available.
Industry experts say actual Nigerian cocoa export figures could be much higher than the official data because a number of exporters do not fully disclose their shipments at the ports.
Nigerian main crop exports reached 133,355 tonnes in the 2007/08 season after dropping 17 percent on the previous year.
Dealers attributed the fall in cocoa exports this season to the global economic crisis which has slashed demand from Western markets for raw beans and processed products, putting some local exporters out of business for months.
Domestic grinders who compete for beans with exporters, buying up 20-30 percent of Nigeria's annual output of about 300,000 tonnes, have all but closed shop due to the shrinking international market, meaning more beans available for export.
But international demand is weak and domestic prices high due mainly to the depreciation of the naira currency against the U.S. dollar, dealers said.
LAGOS WAREHOUSES WELL STOCKED
"With the massive decline in local processing in the past year, the export of raw beans should have risen significantly, but international demand is low," one dealer said.
Most cocoa plants are now operating at below 25 percent of capacity, said the Cocoa Processors Association of Nigeria, thanks also to a perennial power crisis that has increased operating costs and hobbled business in Africa's top oil producer.
Dealers said several Lagos warehouses are well stocked with cocoa beans, but some exporters have not shipped any for months.
The upcountry price of Nigeria's graded cocoa climbed 13 percent to 350,000 naira ($2,386) a tonne on average in the last month, buoyed by a weaker naira, buyers said on Thursday.
Nigeria's cocoa is exported mainly to Western and Asian markets where the beans are used for making such things as ice cream, cake, beverages, liquor and cosmetics.
About 10-15 percent of Nigerian cocoa is shipped to Europe through the southeastern port city of Calabar, capital of Cross River state on the border with Cameroon.
Industry experts say a sizeable amount of beans is smuggled across Nigerian borders by some exporters in a bid to take advantage of lower port charges in neighbouring countries.
Following is a monthly breakdown of Nigerian cocoa exports in tonnes as obtained from the FPIS:
2008/09 2007/08
October 9,786 11,104
November 18,554 16,644
December 25,321 33,897
January 30,105 33,905
February 20,906 28,104
March 12,106 9,700