Cocoa

ICCO latest assessment of European cocoa bean stocks show 1.5% reduction

By Anthony Myers

- Last updated on GMT

The level of cocoa in Europe's warehouses is down by 1.5%, according to the ICCO. Pic: ConfectioneryNews
The level of cocoa in Europe's warehouses is down by 1.5%, according to the ICCO. Pic: ConfectioneryNews

Related tags Cocoa Icco

In its latest update, the ICCO’s (International Cocoa Organization) assessment of European cocoa bean stocks for the 2019/20 season held in the continent’s warehouses reveals a reduction of 1.5% (down by 11,734 tonnes), compared with the previous season.

The ICCO’s Expert Working Group on Stocks (EWGS) is comprised of experts in the cocoa field who review and analyse the results of the ICCO’s annual survey of cocoa bean stocks held in warehouses worldwide.

Results for the survey dated 30 September 2020 depict European cocoa stocks were 774,651 tonnes at the end of the 2019/20 cocoa year, down from 786,385 tonnes for same period in 2019.

In a statement, the ICCO said: “Due to unavoidable circumstances, the Group discussed only the European stocks and will in due course conduct another meeting to assess total worldwide stocks​.”

The ICCO is a UN-backed, inter-governmental organization established in 1973 and made up of 51 member countries, of which 22 are cocoa-exporting countries​ and 29 are cocoa-importing countries​. These member countries together represent 92% of world cocoa exports and 80% of world cocoa imports.

Regarding its latest survey, it said due caution should be exercised in interpreting the results, “as not all warehouse-keepers responded and the same values were considered for two warehouses (holding about 90,000 tonnes of stocks altogether) that did not reply to the survey​”.

ICE Futures Europe

The percentage of terminal market stocks on the ICE Futures Europe was reduced by 8% from 169,510 tonnes at the end of the 2018/19 season to 156,730 tonnes for the 2019/20 season. The ICE Futures Europe stocks represented almost 20% of the overall cocoa stocks of the ICCO European stocks survey as at the end of the 2019/20 cocoa year, it said.

Cocoa stocks published by ICE Futures Europe are generally lower than the volume of cocoa identified by the ICCO survey for two main reasons. Firstly, they represent only part of the cocoa stocks held by warehouse-keepers, as they are restricted to graded cocoa held in ICE Futures Europe nominated warehouses. On the contrary, the ICCO survey endeavours to seek information on all cocoa stocks held by the warehouses, and includes cocoa destined for the terminal market as well as cocoa stocks held by warehouse-keepers for traders, cocoa processors and chocolate manufacturers​.”

The ICCO said its survey also compiles data from a wider geographical area and includes cocoa stored in port warehouses that are outside the ICE Futures Europe designated Delivery Area.

Related topics Commodities Cocoa & Sugar

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