Cocoa prices surged in New York amid ongoing concerns regarding shortages that have disrupted the market and propelled prices to unprecedented levels.
Futures experienced a significant spike of up to 4.1%, before moderating some gains as the week commenced with volatile trading.
The recent surge in prices saw them surpassing $10,000 per tonne, fueled by poor harvests in West Africa, which has put the global market on track for a third consecutive annual deficit.
Illustrating the severity of supply constraints in Ivory Coast, one of the leading cocoa producers, the country’s regulatory body has urged buyers to await the mid-crop harvest to receive delivery of approximately 130,000 tonnes of beans, as reported by Bloomberg on Friday.
With contracts being shifted to the recently initiated harvest, the nation’s unmet export demands, combined with the volume already allocated to local processors, are now dependent on the smaller of the two annual crops, culminating in September.