ABIDJAN, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's cocoa grind dropped 36.2% year-on-year in August to 39,276 metric tonnes compared with the same period a year ago, data from exporter association GEPEX showed on Monday.
The total grind from the start of the 2024/25 season in October stood at 554,430 tonnes of beans by the end of August, down 7.3% compared with the same period last season.
The GEPEX data covers six of the largest grinding companies, including Barry Callebaut BARN.S BARN.S, Olam OLAG.SI and Cargill Inc CARG.UL.
Ivory Coast has a total grinding capacity of around 750,000 tonnes. It is the world's top cocoa producer and vies with the Netherlands as the leading grinder.
(Reporting by Ange Aboa; Editing by Ayen Deng Bior)
((AyenDeng.Bior@thomsonreuters.com;))