Cocoa futures consolidated near $6,000 per tonne ahead of their inclusion in the Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM) on January 8, a factor behind recent volatility. According to dealers, producing countries are holding back on cocoa sales, with the inclusion expected to generate 30,000–40,000 lots of buying. Meanwhile, conditions in key West African cocoa-producing areas have been benign, with reports of a mild Harmattan, the region’s seasonal desert wind. Farmers in the top grower Ivory Coast said on January 5 that unseasonal rains in cocoa-growing regions last week are expected to help the October-to-march main crop finish strongly. Early this year, consultancy Tropical General Investments Group said that favorable weather conditions should boost the cocoa harvest in the next two months in Ivory Coast and Ghana, the world’s two largest cocoa producers.