ABIDJAN, May 31 (Reuters) – Ivory Coast exported 203,581 tonnes of natural rubber in the first four months of 2017, up more than 30 percent from the same period a year earlier, provisional port data showed on Wednesday.
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, lured by the promise of more stable incomes, have increasingly switched from volatile cocoa.
Following are port figures in tonnes:
| Apr 2017 | Mar 2017 | Apr 2016 | |
| Abidjan | 21,398 | 31,523 | 21,673 |
| San Pedro | 18,540 | 20,646 | 15,872 |
| Total | 39,938 | 52,169 | 37,545 |
| Cumulative from Jan | 203,581 | 163,643 | 156,480 |
NOTE: April data for Abidjan is provisional and subject to revision.
(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Edward McAllister)
