(CORRECTED)-IVORY COAST CONFIRMS PRESENCE AT TALKS
A senior Ivory Coast Agriculture
Ministry official confirmed his country's backing for a new
international cocoa pact and said Ivorian delegates would be
present at talks on its buffer stock starting this week.
    The official told Reuters that Ivorian Agriculture Minister
Denis Bra Kanon would attend the opening of the talks, convened
by the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), in London on
Monday.
    While Bra Kanon is due to return home this week for funeral
ceremonies for a sister of Ivorian President Felix
Houphouet-Boigny, scheduled to be held in the country's capital
Yamoussoukro between March 19-22, senior Ivorian delegates will
be present throughout the London talks, the official said.
    Bra Kanon is chairman of the ICCO Council and rumours that
he or Ivorian delegates might be delayed because of public
mourning in the West African nation helped depress already low
world cocoa prices Friday.
    The official said Ivory Coast continued to support the new
pact, which was agreed in principle last year by most of the
world's cocoa exporters and consumers.
    He also said Bra Kanon would fulfil his duties as ICCO
Council chairman during the talks, scheduled to end on March
27.
    The meeting aims to set rules for the operation of the
pact's buffer stock which producers hope will boost a market
hit by successive world cocoa surpluses.
    Ivory Coast did not participate in the last international
cocoa pact and its decision to join the new accord has sparked
hopes that it will be more successful in supporting prices.
 REUTER
