Cocoa futures have jumped to an unprecedented $10,000 per ton and continue to rise. This year, there has already been a doubling of prices, which entails a rise in the price of chocolate and chocolate products. Bloomberg writes about it, UNN reports .
Details
The publication points out that on Tuesday, futures jumped 4.5% to $10,080 per tonne, a level that seemed unthinkable a few months ago.
These prices are reportedly due to a poor harvest in key West African producers, which has pushed the world into its third consecutive annual supply shortage. The industry is also struggling with low profitability for cocoa farmers, which is raising concerns about the ability to get enough beans.
In addition to concerns about physical supply shortages, pressure is also building in the financial market, where some traders are selling futures to hedge against physical assets. But while they wait for the contracts to expire, they need money to pay off margin calls on losses, which also affects the price.
When we have this price, it's hard to say if these prices are justified. Every time there is a drop in our market, it seems like it goes up sharply, which is more related to advertising, they were net buyers
As for the new harvest, Bloomberg reports that attention is now focused on West Africa, but the Ivory Coast regulator expects the harvest to be reduced this season.
Context
In 2023, one of the largest cocoa producers in Ghana informed European buyers that prices for cocoa beans would increase significantly, as products grown in accordance with new EU requirements (which guarantee that products are not grown in areas where there were previously forests) would cost more.