COCOA TALKS SLOW AT CRUCIAL STAGE - DELEGATES
International Cocoa Organization (ICCO)
talks on buffer stock rules have slowed during a crucial phase
of negotiations, delegates said, but they remained confident
about prospects for reaching agreement by Friday.
    Cocoa producers, European Community (EC) consumers and all
consumers separately reviewed technical details of a buffer
stock rules package distributed yesterday.
    The buffer stock working group of consumers and producers
was set to meet later today to debate the proposal jointly for
the first time, they said.
    Delegates said major sticking points were likely to be the
amount of non-member cocoa allowed to be bought for the buffer
stock, and the fixed price differentials at which different
origin cocoas will be offered to the buffer stock manager.
    Producers would prefer that non-member cocoa not be
included in the buffer stock because, if it is, countries such
as Malaysia benefit from the cocoa agreement without joining
it, the delegates said.
 Reuter
