Prices for cocoa beans are breaking all historical records – their stock exchange value has reached USD 10 thousand per tonne, which is an absolute record in the history of trade in this product. This was reported by the dairy news global, according to Komersant ukrainskyi
Futures quotes were updated due to fears of a supply shortage, the publication claims. Thus, on Tuesday, during trading, the price of the product reached $10,070 per 1 tonne. After that, it fell slightly to $9992.
Among the reasons for this dynamics is the abnormally hot weather in Côte d’Ivoire (which, along with Ghana, grows 70% of the world’s cocoa beans), which threatens the cocoa harvest. At the same time, demand for cocoa and chocolate in the world’s leading economies remains high. The upward trend in prices is also due to difficulties with shipping in the Red Sea.
Prior to that, the stock price of cocoa beans reached a historic record in early February at over $5.5 thousand per tonne. The previous historical record was set in 1977, when the price was $5.4 thousand.
Earlier, on 14 March, Reuters reported that chocolate prices could rise even further worldwide as large African cocoa factories in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana stopped or reduced cocoa processing because they could not afford to buy cocoa beans. The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) expects global cocoa production to decline by 10.9% to 4.45 million tonnes this season, the agency reports.
Ukraine has already been affected by the price increase. In particular, since the beginning of the year, prices for chocolate bars have risen by about 30%. There are only two companies in Ukraine that can process cocoa beans, so the price of chocolate products in Ukraine is affected by both the cocoa harvest in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana and the situation in the processing industry.