Ivory Coast 2017 Rubber Exports Jump 31%

Ivory Coast exported 701,034 tonnes of natural rubber in 2017, up more than 31 percent from the previous year, provisional port data showed on Tuesday.

Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, is also the leading producer of natural rubber in Africa. Exports have risen in recent years as farmers, lured by the promise of a more stable income, are increasingly switching away from volatile cocoa.

(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; editing by Sofia Christensen and Jason Neely)