In New York, cocoa prices have experienced a surge due to ongoing worries about shortages, which have significantly impacted the market and pushed prices to unprecedented levels.
At the beginning of the week, futures saw an increase of up to 4.1%, although there was a slight decrease in gains as trading continued. The price of cocoa recently exceeded $10,000 per ton following disappointing harvests in West Africa, leading to a projected third consecutive year of global deficits.
The Ivory Coast, recognized as the leading cocoa producer, has seen its regulator request that purchasers defer their orders until the mid-crop harvest for approximately 130,000 tons of cocoa beans. This adjustment to contracts for the newly commenced harvest implies that the nation's unfulfilled exports, along with the quantity already allocated to local processors, now depend on the smaller of the two annual harvests, concluding in September.
According to Northon Coimbrao, director of sourcing at Natra, a chocolate manufacturing company, there is a noticeable absence of cocoa in the supply chain, and certified stock levels are expected to deplete soon.
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