The port of Abidjan is undamaged and open for business after Ivory Coast's post-election conflict, but trade volumes will not pick up until security and financing improve, the head of the port told Reuters.
Sie Hien, managing director of the port, said last Friday that the first cocoa shipments had left with a few containers of beans, but the majority of the 17 ships that had docked so far were oil tankers or bulk carriers.
Abidjan port was caught up in the power struggle in the world's top cocoa producer, affected by European trade sanctions that were part of efforts to force incumbent Laurent Gbagbo to cede power to Alassane Ouattara, who won a November election.
The sanctions were lifted earlier this month when Mr Ouattara finally took power after heavy fighting led to Mr Gbagbo's arrest.
'Abidjan port is ready, in all departments. We have the quays, we have the people ... but we need freight. If there is freight, there will be ships and if there are ships the work will begin,' Mr Hien told Reuters.
'This assumes security beyond the port as freight must come down through the country to Abidjan. That will take time, but I have faith because, as you can see, there are already some cotton trucks that have arrived,' he added.
Abidjan exports about half of Ivory Coast's cocoa crop of 1.2 million tonnes a year. It is also a major container hub for the country and its neighbours, and had targeted 800,000- 900,000 annual container shipments by 2012, up from around 600,000 in 2008.
Cocoa warehouses in the port area were open on Friday to help air some of the 450,000-500,000 tonnes of beans that have been trapped there since the crisis began. Two ships were at the docks, with one unloading rice and the another clinker for the making of cement.
Businesses in Abidjan are hesitantly starting to return to work, but parts of the city remain awash with gunmen, and sporadic fighting still breaks out. Security problems continue to plague other parts of the country, especially the west.
Mr Hien said he had called a meeting on Friday with all firms involved in the port to reassure them of their security there. 'The cocoa sector has other blockages, especially linked to the opening of the banks,' he said.
Most of Ivory Coast's banks closed during the crisis amid security concerns and after the West African BCEAO central bank shut down its local offices. BCEAO officials were in Abidjan last week to assess the damage from the crisis, and Mr Ouattara's government hopes banks will be able to re-open this week.
Sie Hien, managing director of the port, said last Friday that the first cocoa shipments had left with a few containers of beans, but the majority of the 17 ships that had docked so far were oil tankers or bulk carriers.
Abidjan port was caught up in the power struggle in the world's top cocoa producer, affected by European trade sanctions that were part of efforts to force incumbent Laurent Gbagbo to cede power to Alassane Ouattara, who won a November election.
The sanctions were lifted earlier this month when Mr Ouattara finally took power after heavy fighting led to Mr Gbagbo's arrest.
'Abidjan port is ready, in all departments. We have the quays, we have the people ... but we need freight. If there is freight, there will be ships and if there are ships the work will begin,' Mr Hien told Reuters.
'This assumes security beyond the port as freight must come down through the country to Abidjan. That will take time, but I have faith because, as you can see, there are already some cotton trucks that have arrived,' he added.
Abidjan exports about half of Ivory Coast's cocoa crop of 1.2 million tonnes a year. It is also a major container hub for the country and its neighbours, and had targeted 800,000- 900,000 annual container shipments by 2012, up from around 600,000 in 2008.
Cocoa warehouses in the port area were open on Friday to help air some of the 450,000-500,000 tonnes of beans that have been trapped there since the crisis began. Two ships were at the docks, with one unloading rice and the another clinker for the making of cement.
Businesses in Abidjan are hesitantly starting to return to work, but parts of the city remain awash with gunmen, and sporadic fighting still breaks out. Security problems continue to plague other parts of the country, especially the west.
Mr Hien said he had called a meeting on Friday with all firms involved in the port to reassure them of their security there. 'The cocoa sector has other blockages, especially linked to the opening of the banks,' he said.
Most of Ivory Coast's banks closed during the crisis amid security concerns and after the West African BCEAO central bank shut down its local offices. BCEAO officials were in Abidjan last week to assess the damage from the crisis, and Mr Ouattara's government hopes banks will be able to re-open this week.