Hershey says it is not in the business of processing cocoa, contrary to a Reuters report claiming it was considering a semi-processed cocoa facility in Côte d’Ivoire.
Olam says lower cocoa prices impacted profitability in its cocoa business in the first half of 2017, but it expects profits in the division will improve.
European cocoa processing volumes declined in the fourth quarter after processor Euromar became insolvent; the global cocoa market is also expected to enter a supply surplus.
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Figures from grinders including Cargill, Barry Callebaut, Nestlé and Mondelēz show the volumes of cocoa processed in Europe in the first quarter of this year.
Future cocoa demand will be met by a thriving professionalized sector in Latin America as chocolate makers move away from a “structurally blighted” West African market, claims Hardman Agribusiness.
Chocolate companies outside the top six need to up their games on sustainable cocoa to help bring millions of cocoa farmers in West Africa out of poverty and secure the crop’s future, says Cadbury’s former head of cocoa sourcing.
Colombian cocoa processor Cacao Pacifico will sell chocolate couvertures made with fine flavor Colombian cocoa in Europe through a partnership with Swiss Global Enterprise.
Lindt & Sprüngli has reported a double-digit rise in net income as it weathers steep price hikes in key commodities such as cocoa, hazelnuts and almonds.
Financial agri services group Rabobank predicts cocoa futures will remain above $3,000 per metric ton until after Côte D’Ivoire’s October general election.
Cocoa grinds in North America have fallen 9% in the second quarter and remain flat in Europe as cocoa processors lose profitability and developed market economies harm chocolate consumption.
Asia’s cocoa grind dropped 17.2% in the fourth quarter after an economic slowdown in China, adding another cocoa processing decline to the world jigsaw.
Weak fourth quarter cocoa grinds in developed markets suggest that consumers have reacted negatively to wholesale chocolate price hikes from the major brands, according to an analyst.
The International Cocoa Organization has quelled media reports of a chocolate crisis in 2020 and says there are sufficient cocoa stocks for the next five years.
Cocoa powder demand for use in compound confectionery coatings is rising rapidly in Asia and Eastern Europe as rising cocoa butter prices up the cost of chocolate manufacturing.
A lower combined cocoa ratio has caused a decline in cocoa processing in Europe and Asia in Q3, but North America has bucked the trend and could mean consumers in the region have accepted chocolate price hikes.
The next several years will herald a surge in quality cocoa volumes from Central America creating opportunities for premium origin chocolates, says Lutheran World Relief.
Industry voices discuss whether raising suggested retail prices for chocolate could incentivise cocoa farmers to invest in farms, bring them out of poverty and keep the next generation growing cocoa.
Industry fortune-telling of a large cocoa shortfall in 2020 was a shrewd way to secure supply at low prices, but the latest deficit forecasts are nowhere near as gloomy.
Futures exchange company CME Group has made a “strong commitment” in the cocoa market and plans a new contract to rival the IntercontinentalExchange Group (ICE).
Manufacturers can increase the price of chocolate without fear of putting off consumers thus ensuring cocoa farmers are fairly paid, according to executive director of the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO).
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Chocolate makers are well prepared for current cocoa deficit forecasts and will only be forced to raise prices if other inputs such transportation become costlier along with cocoa, according to the National Confectioners Association (NCA).
Soaring cocoa butter prices have upped the cost of chocolate bar manufacture in Europe by 25% in the past 12 months, according to commodity analysts Mintec, which claims the cocoa deficit will worsen.
The Indonesian deputy trade minister has said that after successfully increasing domestic cocoa grinding capacity the country should lower cocoa bean import duties to prevent shortages in the future.
Ferrero is considering building its second factory in Cameroon after a company delegation held talks with the Cameroonian government, according to press reports.
The chocolate industry is behind in tackling some cocoa supply issues and must work more closely to avert shortages, according to Mars’ head of sustainability.
Euromonitor International is predicting that demand for cocoa products will not outstrip supply by 2017, contrary to the International Cocoa Organization’s (ICCO) forecasted cocoa deficit.
Spanish chocolate and cocoa processor Natra has more than doubled its operating profit in its ninth-month results helped by relaxing cocoa prices, North American expansion and a shift to value added products.
Indonesia is the focus of an extension of Nestlé’s sustainable Cocoa Plan initiative, with the Swiss food group aiming to pump $4m (€2.7m) into bean production in that country.
As demand continues to outstrip supply, the world price of cocoa was more than 12 per cent higher at the end of last week compared with a year ago, according to the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO).
Latest data on cocoa output from the world's leading cocoa growers, the Ivory Coast and Ghana, shows that levels are well-below last year, according to Reuters.
North American cocoa bean grindings revealed a double-digit growth in the first quarter of 2010, the first gain since 2008, according to the latest statistics released from the National Confectioners Association (NCA).
Cocoa futures in New York hit their lowest price since September yesterday on signs of increased production in Ivory Coast, which is the leading global supplier.
Confectionery manufacturers are facing increasing cost pressures as cocoa prices reach their highest in over 20 years as cocoa futures prices soared by 3 per cent.
Cadbury, Mars and a number of other leading global confectioners
are under investigation in Canada over allegations of price fixing
in the country, press reports have said.
