Cocoa Harvest Season Explained: Main Crop, Mid-Crop and Port Arrival Delays
Understand why cocoa harvest dates, marketing seasons and port arrivals do not line up perfectly. Learn how to compare main-crop and mid-crop reports without mistaking a timing shift for lost production.
“The harvest has started” and “beans have reached the port” describe different events. Between them sit harvesting, fermentation, drying, collection and transport. That distinction is essential when comparing an early-season arrival report with a full-season crop forecast.
Rather than treating one calendar date as the start of supply everywhere, identify which country, crop and stage of the supply chain a report covers.
What are the main crop and mid-crop?
These terms distinguish harvest periods within a producing origin. They do not mean that every tree, region or country follows an identical calendar. ICCO notes that the relative importance of main and mid-crop harvests differs across countries. ICCO cocoa FAQ ↗.
For market research, use the season definition in the report you are reading. A publisher’s marketing-year total, a regulator’s buying season and a biological harvest period can have different boundaries. Verify current official opening dates rather than applying an old season’s timetable automatically.