Sucden Closes Cocoa Buying Center in San Pedro Amid Market Turmoil
French agricultural commodities trader Sucres et Denrées SA (Sucden) has shut down its cocoa buying operations in San Pedro, Ivory Coast’s major cocoa export port, according to people familiar with the matter. The closure occurs at the height of Ivory Coast’s main harvest season, when cocoa production and export activity are typically at their peak.
San Pedro—located near key cocoa-growing regions—hosts several global trading and export firms. While Sucden also operates in Abidjan, the country’s commercial capital, the company’s exit from San Pedro removes one of the established buyers from a strategic cocoa collection hub. Representatives from Sucden’s Paris headquarters and the company’s Ivorian managing director, Thomas Roche, declined to comment on the closure when contacted by Bloomberg.
The precise reason for shutting the San Pedro center has not been publicly disclosed. The move follows a volatile start to the 2025/26 cocoa season, during which international prices, after reaching record levels in 2024, have fallen sharply in 2025 as harvests improved and global demand softened.
This price downturn has contributed to congestion at Ivory Coast’s ports in recent weeks, with truckloads of cocoa beans awaiting sale and export as traders and intermediaries search for buyers willing to absorb lower prices. In response to mounting economic pressure on local farmers and exporters, the Ivorian government recently authorized the national cocoa regulator to purchase roughly 200,000 tonnes of beans directly from farmers—a rare intervention intended to support farm-gate liquidity and market stability.
Adding to sector uncertainty, Sucden’s head of cocoa exited the company earlier in 2025, and Maurice Varsano, son of the company’s chief executive officer, was subsequently named head of the Paris cocoa unit.
The closure of the San Pedro buying center highlights growing stress points within West Africa’s cocoa value chain and raises questions about sourcing capacity during a season already challenged by price swings and logistical bottlenecks.
Source: Bloomberg, “Crop Trader Sucden Shuts Cocoa Buying Center in Ivory Coast Port”, December 24, 2025.
