ABIDJAN, March 31 (Reuters) – Ivory Coast exported 166,183 tonnes of natural rubber in January and February, down more than 30% from the same period in 2020, provisional port data showed on Wednesday.

The reasons for the decline were not immediately clear.

Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer, is also Africa’s leading grower of natural rubber.

Exports have risen in recent years as farmers, attracted by the promise of more stable incomes, have increasingly switched to rubber from cocoa.

The following are port figures in tonnes:

Feb 2021 Jan 2021 Feb 2020 Jan 2020 Abidjan 54,150 66,179 109,612 86,708

San Pedro 21,202 24,652 22,312 20,266

Total 75,352 90,831 131,924 106,974

Cumulative 166,183 90,831 238,898 106,974

NOTE: Cumulative figures are totals for the year to the end of each month. February data for Abidjan is provisional and subject to revision. January data for Abidjan was revised to 66,179 tonnes, from 63,267 tonnes previously. (Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Aaron Ross/Mark Heinrich)

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