One and a half year low: chocolate prices plummet

Global cocoa prices have plummeted to a 20-month low, indicating that the increase observed over the past two years has finally come to an end. This is reported by the Financial Times, citing data from the ICE New York exchange. According to the exchange data, this week cocoa is trading at around $6150 per ton, compared to peak values of over $12,000 in December last year. On the London exchange, quotations were at around $4262 per ton, which is 58% lower than the peak in April 2024. As the publication notes, analysts explain the drop in cocoa prices by the decline in consumer demand following the previous price shock, as well as expectations of better harvests due to favorable weather and guaranteed prices for farmers in West Africa. Additional pressure on prices is also exerted by speculators who are closing long positions and betting on a decline. After the low harvests of 2022 in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, which together account for about 60% of global production, the risks for ...