Commodities: Cocoa hits new highs at over $12,900 per tonne in the US

They are unstoppable. Cocoa prices have soared to historic highs this week, surpassing previous records set in April due to poor weather conditions in West Africa and with supplies at their lowest. The most traded cocoa contract in New York for March delivery hit its highest level ever at $12,931 per tonne on Wednesday. With supply tight, weather conditions unfavourable to the harvest, and supplies at their lowest level in a year, cocoa prices have soared by nearly 200% on the markets. “Dry conditions in West Africa are keeping concerns about the upcoming harvests alive,” and explain the jump of around 30% in the commodity since the beginning of the month, notes Mark Bowman, an analyst at ADM Investor Services. Also read "Nostalgia is not enough": how Merveilles du Monde chocolate is rising from the ashes Global demand "continues to increase" However, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana supply 55% of the world's cocoa production (39% and 16% respectively) according to the International Cocoa ...