The influential and respected cocoa consultant Dr Kristy Leissle has launched a new marketing company that puts cocoa farmers’ perspectives at the centre of the procurement process so they can share in revenue from the sale of their beans.
Cocoa production in Ghana has been falling off the cliff since posting a record 1.047 million metric tonnes (MT) at the close of the 2020-21 season. A multiplicity of factors account for the downward trend in production, including a prolonged El-Niño...
The El Niño weather phenomenon, which hit the west coast of Africa last year, carrying unseasonal heavy rains followed by dry heat, is the main factor in an 11% drop in the season’s main cocoa harvest, according to the latest figures from the International...
Agribusiness group Olam has reported a significant improvement in its second-half full-year results and says London listings for ingredients supplier subsidiary ofi is still planned.
Cocoa futures in London and New York rose to fresh record highs on trading platform ICE on Monday this week as increasing concern about supply shortages in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, the world's top two producers, left buyers scrambling for beans from...
Procurement came under the spotlight at Chocoa’s recent Amsterdam Sustainable Cocoa Conference when it convened a panel of specialists to discuss why the practice is not just about buying beans - transactions should go a lot deeper in the value chain...
A report from ingredients supplier Henley Bridge has warned that cocoa price increases of 15-20% for the first half of 2024 might continue into the second half of the year.
Love may be in the air this Valentine's Day – but so is the eye-watering price of cocoa on the market, making the cost of the key ingredient in chocolate more expensive than ever, according to analysts.
In his opening remarks at this year’s World Cocoa Foundation Partnership Meeting in Amsterdam, Chris Vincent, president of the WCF, said this year's conference theme, ‘aligning for global action,’ underscores the critical interconnectedness between...
With its link between Europe, North America, and the rest of Latin America, the tiny country on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola is set to be a significant player for premium cocoa as demand soars due to a global shortage of beans.
Leading commodities supplier ofi has announced Roel van Poppel as its chief sustainability officer (CSO), taking responsibility for scaling the group’s ability to drive positive impact across its five leading product platforms - cocoa, coffee, dairy,...
The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) has warned that a rise in freight rates due to conflict in the Red Sea also added to costs for chocolate producers.
After two consecutive years of deficit in conjunction with the expectation of another negative for the current season, cocoa futures in London and New York have continued to be bullish as demand for chocolate remains high, pushing up prices in the face...
Cocoa prices in New York reached a record high of $4,000 per tonne at the close of play last week – with some analysts predicting a supply shortfall in the 2023-24 season, which could push up prices even higher over the coming months.
The African Platform for Sustainable Cocoa, which brings together civil society cocoa platforms from Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, has issued a statement alleging the cocoa industry is refusing to pay at the current market price plus the Living Income...
While the vanilla industry is seeing low prices and low demand this year, Virginia Dare’s partnerships with 1,300 growers in Madagascar are focused on fortifying communities’ livelihoods through social, environmental and economic initiatives that help...
Cocoa prices climbed this week as the result of stronger global cocoa demand, with barchart.com reporting that Gepex, an exporter group that includes six of the world's biggest cocoa grinders, said that its Q3 cocoa processing was 183,731 MT, up...
The country’s cocoa production sector is under serious threat with climate change, disease, moribund farms, overaged tree stock, an aging farmer population, and an acute labour shortage, just some of the issues affecting productivity … that is why we...
Cargill, one of the world’s largest cocoa suppliers, has been ordered by a Brazilian court to pay 600,000 reais ($120,185) as indemnity for allegedly buying cocoa from farms where child labour or forced work has been identified.
The implementation of stricter regulations for palm oil, one of the food sector’s most essential commodities, will lead to major supply and cost implications in APAC and beyond, says the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
International soft commodities exchange has announced it has launched a new Traceability Service to support cocoa suppliers and other commodities, such as coffee and sugar, affected by the EU Deforestation Regulation.
Cameroon has announced a significant increase in cocoa production over the past two seasons, with figures showing that the crop in the 2022-23 season was 681 tonnes, almost four times higher than the 182 tonnes recorded in 2020-21.
Ghana has announced a state-guaranteed cocoa price paid to its farmers of 20,943 Ghana cedi ($1,837) per tonne for the new 2023-2024 season – an increase of more than 63% in a bid to boost their income and prevent beans from being smuggled to neighbouring...
The Olam Group Limited has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, olam food ingredients (ofi), which includes its cocoa division, has secured a multi-tranche sustainability-linked facility aggregating $1,750 million.
Cocoa traded on ICE Futures in New York hit a 12-year high of $3,640.50 per tonne on Wednesday (30 August), as analysts reacted to a consumer surge in chocolate, as well as the adverse impacts of the El Niño weather phenomenon on West Africa’s cocoa crop.
The Federal Association of the German Confectionery Industry (BDSI) has called for the European Union to reform high external sugar tariffs to keep medium-sized companies competitive – while candy makers in the US grapple with US agricultural policy.
Cocoa grindings in Europe, North America and Asia fell for the second quarter of 2023, according to latest figures released by the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), sending cocoa prices soaring on the markets as consumers look for cheaper chocolate.
The Singapore-based agri business (which includes ofi - its cocoa and ingredients division) has reported Operational PATMI (profit after tax and minority interest) of S$184.0 million ($136 million) so far this year.
Alarm bells have been raised in the United States over a potential sugar shortage that could affect confectionery and candy production ahead of the important Halloween holiday season.
Cote d’Ivoire’s main cocoa crop (October to March) has been buoyed by above-average rain, with farmers pleased by the number of cherelles, or pods, already on the trees.
Cocoa bean processing in North America has slumped almost 12% in the second quarter, according to figures released by the National Confectioners Association, the lowest in almost 15 years for that period, while in Europe and Asia, factories ground the...
In latest market news reduced cocoa supplies from Cote d’Ivoire after recent heavy rains saw ICE NY cocoa on Monday close +7 (+0.21%), and Sep ICE London cocoa #7 closed +16 (+0.74%).
Barry Callebaut has reported lower nine-month sales volumes in its 9-Month Key Sales Figures for Fiscal Year 2022-23 after being hit by growing global inflationary pressures and the high price of cocoa on the commodity market that pushes up the price...
Recent bad weather in West Africa has threatened cocoa production resulting in record-high prices for the commodity on the Intercontinental Exchange in London.
With supply concerns heightened by recent flooding in some of Cote d’Ivoire’s cocoa farms, there are concerns it could affect the start of the next October-to-March main crop, farmers told local media at the beginning of the week, while NY cocoa prices...
Rising costs of cocoa on the commodity markets could push up the cost of chocolate in the coming months, according to data from the consumer intelligence database NielsenIQ
The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) has widened its deficit forecast for the current 2022-23 (October-September) season to 142,000 tonnes, up from 60,000 tonnes previously.
Both countries’ economies have been ‘hit hard by the triple shock of the Covid-19 pandemic, global financial tightening, and adverse spillovers from Russia’s war in Ukraine’.
The Federal Association of the German Confectionery Industry (BDSI) has called for its government to prioritise strengthening the domestic economy after a decline in sales in the first quarter of 2023.
The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) has reported cocoa prices at the halfway mark of the year (2022-23) of the first position of cocoa futures were broadly higher year-on-year on both the London and New York markets.
In the week that the European Parliament adopted a new law to fight global deforestation and ahead of Earth Day (22 April), Satelligence has announced results of a collaboration with Swedish sustainable ingredients supplier AAK on helping it verify its...
The European Parliament has formally adopted a new law to fight global deforestation with cocoa, coffee, palm-oil, soya, wood, rubber, charcoal printed paper products and cattle covered by the new rules, which obliges companies to ensure products sold...
The European Cocoa Organisation (ECA) has reported that 375,375 tonnes of raw cocoa were ground for the 1st quarter of 2023. This corresponds to a slight increase of 0.5% compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Gerard Manley, CEO of ofi’s Cocoa business and the group’s Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), has announced he will will retire at the end of June 2023 after 25 years with the company.
Cocoa prices posted moderate losses on the New York and London ICE exchanges at the end of last week. May ICE NY cocoa (CCK23) closed down -51 (-1.80%), and May ICE London cocoa #7 (CAK23) closed down -26 (-1.20%) as a stronger dollar sparked long liquidation...