Ivory Coast's cocoa grind dropped 36.2% year-on-year in August to 39,276 metric tonnes compared with the same period a year ago, data from exporter association GEPEX showed on Monday.
The total grind from the start of the 2024/25 season in October stood at 554,430 tonnes of beans by the end of August, down 7.3% compared with the same period last season.
The GEPEX data covers six of the largest grinding companies, including Barry Callebaut BARN.S SIX:BARN, Olam SGX:VC2 and Cargill Inc (CARG.UL).
Ivory Coast has a total grinding capacity of around 750,000 tonnes. It is the world's top cocoa producer and vies with the Netherlands as the leading grinder.