COCOA TALKS SLOW AT CRUCIAL STAGE - DELEGATES

  International Cocoa Organization (ICCO)
  talks on buffer stock rules have slowed during a crucial phase
  of negotiations, delegates said, but they remained confident
  about prospects for reaching agreement by Friday.
      Cocoa producers, European Community (EC) consumers and all
  consumers separately reviewed technical details of a buffer
  stock rules package distributed yesterday.
      The buffer stock working group of consumers and producers
  was set to meet later today to debate the proposal jointly for
  the first time, they said.
      Delegates said major sticking points were likely to be the
  amount of non-member cocoa allowed to be bought for the buffer
  stock, and the fixed price differentials at which different
  origin cocoas will be offered to the buffer stock manager.
      Producers would prefer that non-member cocoa not be
  included in the buffer stock because, if it is, countries such
  as Malaysia benefit from the cocoa agreement without joining
  it, the delegates said.
  

