Prices of cocoa, the raw material for chocolate, hit their highest level in more than 22 years in New York on Tuesday, just weeks after hitting their highest level in 46 years in London, as traders and Chocolate producers face supply restrictions.
Benchmark cocoa contract prices at the Intercontinental Exchange in New York hit $3,429 per metric ton earlier in the session, the highest since mid-March 2011, and later closed at $3,407, an increase of 1.4%.
Cocoa is currently one of the most prized agricultural raw materials, mainly due to an unusual drop in production in the western part of Africa, a region that provides most of the raw material to chocolate makers around the world. worldwide, and the prospect of potentially adverse weather conditions in the future.
Ghana and Ivory Coast, along with Nigeria and Cameroon, are located in one of the regions that analysts say could suffer from drier than normal weather in the coming months, due of the developing El Nino phenomenon.
“Cocoa production is generally weaker in an El Niño year. We don’t know how intense the current El Niño will be, but forecasters believe it will likely be strong,” said analyst Paul Joules. cocoa at Rabobank.
“The 2023/24 mid-crop could be affected, as well as the 2024/25 main crop,” he added, referring to the two annual cocoa crops in African countries.
The amount of cocoa arriving at ports for export to Ivory Coast, the top producer, is down 4% for the season from a year earlier, exporters estimated on Monday, pointing to lower output.
London cocoa futures rose 18 pounds, or 0.7%, to 2,532 pounds per metric ton.
Among other commodities, raw sugar rose 0.3% to 23.86 cents a pound, still trading in a narrow range, below the 11-year high above 27 cents reached at the end of the month of April.
Arabica coffee rose 0.3%, to $1.563 per pound, while Robusta coffee fell $20, or 0.8%, to $2,532 per metric ton (report by Marcelo Teixeira).
2023-07-18 01:26:37
#Cocoa #prices #hit #22year #high #York
