Cocoa Market in Turmoil: Prices Hit Rock Bottom
Cairo: Mei Kamal El-Din
Cocoa futures plunged to $7670 per ton in New York due to liquidity scarcity, marking the lowest since mid-March, as reported by Bloomberg.
Cocoa bean prices continued their downward spiral, extending a week of market volatility where liquidity dwindles and commercial buyers refrain from purchases. This predicament has induced chaos in the market, making it costlier for traders to uphold their positions.
Analyst Haytawer Report commented, “Signs of commercial firms postponing West African cocoa purchases to the next season are putting pressure on the cocoa market.”
Experts attribute the complex situation to limited cocoa bean supply from key production regions – Ivory Coast and Ghana – due to weather-related factors. These countries’ plantations account for about 60% of the world’s crop.