African cotton: record congestion at Abidjan port threatens the whole sector
Tonnes of cotton are blocked at the port of Abidjan, one of the main exit points for West African production, because of port congestion. Johanna Adotevi, commercial director of Ivoire Coton and Faso Coton, says the congestion began at the end of May after exports resumed following a wave of cotton orders from Bangladesh, and that waiting times have reached up to three months where three weeks is normal. She puts Ivoire Coton's exposure at about 30 billion CFA francs (roughly 45.7 million euros) for 3,000 tonnes that are blocked, while Kassoum Koné, commercial director of the Ivorian cotton company and current president of the African Cotton Association, says growers are waiting for containers to be exported before they are paid.
Why it matters: The backlog shows how trade logistics bottlenecks at a single West African port transmit financial risk along the entire cotton supply chain, from growers to international traders.