Ivory Coast Cocoa Retaining its Commodities Crown

CBx Vibe:Left Da Bank” Zaytoven

By CultureBanx Team

  • Cocoa is on track for a record harvest of 2.2 million tons
  • Ivory Coast and Ghana grow about 60% of the world’s cocoa

Ivory Coast is on track for a record cocoa harvest this season of 2.2 million tons. Prices for the highly sought after commodity are set thousands of miles away in New York and London where they see favorable weather and new plantations as the main catalysts pushing the crop over the top.

Why This Matters: Considering cocoa ended 2017 down 11%, after extending a 33% slump from 2016, this upcoming season is shaping up to be quite impressive. At last week’s settlement of $2,170 per ton in New York, cocoa had returned 15% to investors who had bought at the end of 2017 and have held onto the commodity ever since.

Ivory Coast and Ghana grow about 60% of the world’s cocoa and want to regulate global supply to grab more of the profit. Just this year Ivory Coast halted the distribution of higher-yielding seed varieties, since there has been a major turnaround in 2018 causing prices to surge up about 25%.

Cocoa accounts for about 20% of the average bar of milk chocolate

Exporters of cocoa are major borrowers from the Coffee and Cocoa Council, which serves as the country’s marketing board. Despite high production Archer Financials expects cocoa prices to be supported by strong demand and a potential weakening of the dollar.

Cocoa accounts for about 20% of the average bar of milk chocolate. Candy makers usually buy cocoa six months in advance, so any price increase would take a while before it hit your favorite candy bar at the local store.

Situational Awareness: Multiple festivities from Hanukkah to Christmas and New Year’s mean high consumption and gifting of candy bode well for cocoa investors and confectioners. The cocoa season opened in October and runs through March, so there’s still time for investors to cash in.

CBx Vibe:Left Da Bank” Zaytoven

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