20110408
reuters

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Ivory Coast resumed cocoa bean exports on Sunday more than three months after they were halted by the country's political conflict, officials and a Reuters witness said.

Workers were loading beans onto a ship owned by Bollore Africa Logistics from a warehouse brimming with cocoa sacks.

"This is the first boat. It arrived on May 7 and this morning we started operations," said Kouame Kouassi, a Bollore official. "We have 1,796 tonnes (on this boat) and there's another boat coming at a later date to load 9,000 tonnes."

Ivory Coast is the world's largest cocoa producer, providing a third of the supply internationally.

Nearly half a million tonnes of cocoa were held up at the West African country's Atlantic seaports by a conflict which lasted more than four months.

Bollore shipping agent Seydou Traore said the boat would head to San Pedro on Monday to pick up 7,500 tonnes of cocoa after it had finished loading the 1,796 tonnes at Abidjan.

Another boat would come on May 10 to load 8,000 tonnes at San Pedro, he said.

"There is a large number of boats expected to come here and there are further contracts being finalised for other exports," Traore told Reuters, as a crane loaded several sacks of cocoa beans aboard the ship.