The disadvantage of the buffer stock system, however is that cocoa that was pulled away from the market when there was bountiful harvest did not go away. As you know we have just started liquidating cocoa stock that were stored for several years. The snag here is that both consumers and producers know that this stock of cocoa was available even though not in the market at a particular time and this affects prices. But what the new agreement tends to instill is a more rational way of managing our production to be in line with our consumption. What's the future for farmers with liberalization.
Liberalisation is the order of the day and ofcourse the liberal market is a more performance market.
I should say that what the future holds for farmers would better left to be seen because some of these concepts are very new with implications that are far- reaching and very difficult to determine right now. I think through such bodies, they will be able to purchase inputs and command a generally higher price from the middle men for a variety of reasons. But also I think, that the processing of cocoa will help maximise profits. Its always better to add value t o products before they are taken to the market and besides, prices of finished or semi- finished products have been generally more stable over the years than the prices of beans or maize. Here again we think that consumption of cocoa in certain areas of the world is saturated.