The volatile market and sharp increase in cocoa prices are directly affecting the production costs and profits of the Agricultural Cooperative (Cooperative) producing, purchasing, processing and consuming cocoa in Ea Kar district.
According to Mr. Thai Dang Dam, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Director of the Agricultural Cooperative for Production, Purchase, Processing and Consumption of Cocoa in Ea Kar District, the current price of cocoa has tripled compared to previous years, with farmers earning an average of 400 - 450 million VND per hectare.
This is a good sign for farmers, but for cooperatives, it is a disadvantage because the unit needs a large amount of capital to purchase input materials, while capital mobilization is difficult. Along with that, cocoa output in the area is still low, traders buy a lot, leading to high competition.
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| Cocoa products of Nam Truong Son Cocoa Company Limited. |
Not only that, for deeply processed products, due to high input materials, the cooperative has been forced to increase the price of finished products, leading to a sharp decrease in consumer purchasing power. Units that consumed large quantities of cocoa products in previous years are now hesitant and do not dare to place orders, which has greatly affected the unit's revenue. It is estimated that the cooperative's revenue in the first quarter of 2025 will decrease by about 60 - 70% compared to the same period in 2024.
Thanh Dat Agricultural Service and Trade Cooperative (Ea Kar District) is also facing many difficulties. Mr. Duong Van Dinh, Director of Thanh Dat Agricultural Service and Trade Cooperative, said that cocoa prices have fluctuated since 2022, increasing from 90,000 VND/kg to 240,000 - 260,000 VND/kg. This is the highest price in many years.
On average, each year the cooperative purchases, processes, ferments and supplies over 20 tons of dry beans to chocolate and confectionery companies. Due to the scarcity of goods, the cooperative is having to compete with traders to purchase raw materials, so since the beginning of the year, it has only been able to purchase about 5 tons of dry beans.
What is more noteworthy is that the massive purchase by traders is affecting the quality of cocoa. While the cooperative has to carry out the preliminary processing, fermentation and slow drying stages in greenhouses (taking at least 21 days to produce a batch of dry cocoa, following the correct process, achieving high quality), traders instruct people to just put fresh cocoa beans in bags, tie them up, leave them for 2-3 days, then pour them out to dry, and they will still be purchased at high prices like the market. The fermentation stage is sketchy, the cocoa beans have only just turned light yellow, people have poured them out to dry, so this raw material does not retain the important flavor for making chocolate, candy and cakes. "If this situation continues, it will affect the quality and brand of cocoa products in the province and the maintenance of the cooperatives will face many difficulties," Mr. Dinh worried.
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| The Agricultural Cooperative producing, purchasing, processing and consuming cocoa in Ea Kar district is making efforts to adapt to the market to maintain cocoa production and processing. |
Not only cooperatives but also many enterprises are struggling because of the rising price of raw cocoa. Mr. Truong Ngoc Quang, Director of Nam Truong Son Cocoa Company Limited (Krong Ana district) said that as a unit specializing in processing products from cocoa beans, the company annually supplies and sells 20-30 tons of finished cocoa products to domestic and foreign markets. "The continuous increase in cocoa prices over the past year has made it very difficult for enterprises to adjust product prices. Particularly for foreign customers, they have to commit to product prices for about 6-12 months, so high raw material prices are disadvantageous for the unit, at times falling into a state of loss," Mr. Quang shared.
To be proactive in production, Nam Truong Son Cocoa Company Limited is aiming to cooperate with foreign partners to invest in processing products with high added value, serving higher market segments. From there, building a more sustainable production chain with farmers and cooperatives.
Source: https://baodaklak.vn/kinh-te/202504/gia-ca-cao-tang-ky-luc-nguoi-mung-nguoi-lo-b581b94/
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