DUTCH COCOA PROCESSORS UNHAPPY WITH ICCO BUFFER
Dutch cocoa processors are unhappy with
the intermittent buying activities of the International Cocoa
Organization's buffer stock manager, industry sources told
Reuters.
    "The way he is operating at the moment is doing almost
nothing to support the market. In fact he could be said to be
actively depressing it," one company spokesman said.
    Including the 3,000 tonnes he acquired on Friday, the total
amount of cocoa bought by the buffer stock manager since he
recently began support operations totals 21,000 tonnes.
    Despite this buying, the price of cocoa is well under the
1,600 Special Drawing Rights, SDRs, a tonne level below which
the bsm is obliged to buy cocoa off the market.
    "Even before he started operations, traders estimated the
manager would need to buy at least up to his 75,000 tonnes
maximum before prices moved up to or above the 1,600 SDR level,
and yet he appears reluctant to do so," one manufacturer said.
    "We all hoped the manager would move into the market to buy
up to 75,000 tonnes in a fairly short period, and then simply
step back," he added.
    "The way the manager is only nibbling at the edge of the
market at the moment is actually depressing sentiment and the
market because everyone is holding back from both buying and
selling waiting to see what the manager will do next," one
processor said.
    "As long as his buying tactics remain the same the market is
likely to stay in the doldrums, and I see no indication he is
about to alter his methods," he added.
    Processors and chocolate manufacturers said consumer prices
for cocoa products were unlikely to be affected by buffer stock
buying for some time to come.
 Reuter
