Virus hits Ivory Coast cocoa trees

Abidjan – Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest cocoa producer, announced yesterday it would rip up 100 000 hectares of cacao trees in a bid to roll back a plant virus called swollen shoot.

The operation will take place in the southwest and west, the heart of the cocoa production belt, the agriculture ministry said. It won’t have a major impact on production.

The operation will cost $40 million (R525 million).

Over the first three years, cacao trees will be ripped out. The land will then be quarantined for a further two years to prevent the virus from bouncing back.

Ivory Coast supplies two million tons of cocoa to the world market annually.

Cacao swollen shoot virus disease is an insect-borne pathogen that typically affects a tree’s harvest.