* Quality control centres to start from Nov. 1 -BCC
* Standards starting at 5% mould, 10% humidity; to stiffen
(Adds details, background)
ABIDJAN, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's Cocoa authority said on Tuesday that exporters who sell damp or mouldy cocoa risk having their licenses revoked and that quality control centres will prevent such exports from next month.
The West African nation is the world's top cocoa grower, meeting about 40 percent of global demand. But it has long struggled with the issue of the quality of its beans.
"From the first of November, all cocoa that does not respect the norms of quality in the state of Ivory Coast will be rejected," Gilbert Ano, president of the main cocoa regulating body and head of the Coffee and Cocoa Bourse (BCC), told exporters and middlemen at the BCC office in Abidjan.
"All those who contravene these regulations will be simply and purely sanctioned by having their licenses removed."
Ano said that any cocoa that is found to have humidity higher than 10 percent and mould of more than 5 percent would not be accepted for export between Nov. 1 and Nov. 15. After Nov. 15, he said the standard would rise to 8 percent humidity and 4 percent mould.
"We will control the quality in every outlet in Abidjan, San Pedro and all towns," he said.
Ivory Coast is battling diseases such as black pod, which is caused by wet weather.
Its cocoa is considered low grade when compared with the beans from neighbour and competitor Ghana, whose cocoa is much sought after by the top chocolate makers.
(Reporting by Ange Aboa; Writing by Tim Cocks; editing by David Lewis and Jane Baird)