Côte d’Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire

The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire commissioned Port of Amsterdam International, FMO and Mercator Novus to perform a Business Opportunity Scan (BOS) in Côte d’Ivoire during 2016 and 2017.The BOS analysed the political, economic, and social climate in Côte d’Ivoire in order to identify opportunities for Dutch companies in two specific logistical chains: fruit and cocoa.
Project details
XBackground
The scans were used by the Embassy to help Dutch companies communicate with the Ivorian authorities about interesting ventures for investment. The port of Amsterdam is the largest importer of cocoa and Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s largest cocoa producer. There are also many large cocoa companies in the port of Amsterdam that maintain activities in the Ivorian port of San Pedro. As a result, Port of Amsterdam International was uniquely qualified to perform this analysis.
Services
The analysis showed that Côte d’Ivoire faces challenges due to global developments (growing demand, competition from Middle and South America, increased demand for sustainability and traceability) in the cocoa trade. Local challenges such as stagnating yields and inefficient logistics are also key factors. Jointly, these aspects mean it would be beneficial to all parties to get Dutch expertise involved. Together with FMO, Port of Amsterdam International identified six business opportunities where Dutch involvement would be of added value. The project concluded in 2017.
Our research covered:
- Desk and field research in the ports of Amsterdam, Abidjan and San Pédro
- Global trends in the cocoa trade
- Localised factors impacting efficiency of supply
- The logistics of the existing supply chain
- The identification of investment opportunities