6 April - Talks are going on to try to convince Laurent Gbagbo to give up the presidency of Ivory Coast, amid reports that he is close to surrendering. The bloody conflict in Ivory Coast sent cocoa prices to a 34 year high last month. The country is the world’s leading producer of cocoa and accounts for almost 40% of global production. But over the last few weeks, there has been a dramatic fall in in prices, as hope has risen that the conflict is reaching an end and exports will resume. Gary Mead is editor of the commodities website, www.worldCrops.com and told the BBC although prices have fallen, the long term outlook is for the price to increase.