Cocoa prices plummeted

According to the Vietnam Commodity Exchange (MXV), cocoa prices are under downward pressure in the context of the market recording more optimistic prospects for the crop in West Africa - the world's largest cocoa producing region. In a newly conducted survey, Ivory Coast farmers said that the crop is in the process of developing well, dry weather helps the beans to dry smoothly, while in Ghana, stable climate conditions help cocoa pods ripen evenly and achieve high quality. Chocolate maker Mondelez said that the number of cocoa pods counted in the West Africa region this year is about 7% higher than the 5-year average, and also far exceeds the same period last year. Now that the main harvest in Ivory Coast has begun, producers are showing quite confident about the quality of cocoa this year.

Meanwhile, weather forecasting agency World Weather also said that the weather in key cocoa growing areas will continue to be favorable. In southern Ghana, heavy rains in the past 24 hours may slow down the harvest in the short term but benefit crop yields in the long term. According to forecasts, rainfall in Ivory Coast is expected to remain high until the end of the week before gradually decreasing early next week. Ghana and Cameroon are also forecast to have similar weather conditions.

On the demand side, the outlook for cocoa consumption remains subdued. Barry Callebaut Group warned that cocoa sales in the coming fiscal year could fall by a single digit as raw material prices remain high, putting pressure on chocolate makers’ profits. However, the downward trend is somewhat restrained by supply risks, as the political situation in Cameroon – the world’s fifth-largest cocoa producer – became tense after the recent election, and concerns about renewed unrest in Nigeria. At the same time, inventories on the ICE exchange continued to fall by 3,860 bags to 1.807 million bags – the lowest level since late March this year.

Source: https://vtv.vn/gia-ca-cao-lao-doc-manh-100251107092827968.htm