At Easter of all times, cocoa prices no longer seem to have a limit. On the New York Commodity Exchange, the price per ton exceeded the $10,000 mark for the first time. German import prices rose rapidly.
The price of cocoa continues its record hunt. Today the price of a ton on the New York Commodity Exchange rose above the round $10,000 mark for the first time. At its peak, the futures contract due in May traded at $10,047 – a record. The price has more than doubled since the beginning of the year and has more than tripled over the course of a year.
Chocolate is likely to become more expensive
As a result of the constantly rising world market prices, German import prices for cocoa are also increasing significantly. The import prices for cocoa beans and cocoa bean nibs in January 2024 exceeded the level of the same month of the previous year by 73.4 percent, the Federal Statistical Office announced. The import of cocoa mass and cocoa butter was 49.4 percent more expensive in the month than a year earlier.
“The high price increases for the import of cocoa are also likely to have an impact on the producer prices for chocolate produced in this country,” concluded the Wiesbaden statisticians. In February 2024, producer prices for chocolate and other cocoa-containing food preparations rose above average by 8.8 percent compared to the same month last year.
It can be assumed that rising raw material and producer prices will have an impact on product prices. At the beginning of March, the Swiss chocolatier Lindt & Sprüngli announced that it expected rising prices for chocolate this year.
Despite the hedging strategy and higher inventories, the increase in cocoa prices will also “result in further price increases in 2024 and 2025 if cocoa prices remain at current levels,” the company said.
The reasons for the increase
The Federal Office cited the shortage of the raw material on the world market as a result of failed harvests, particularly in West Africa, as one reason for the significantly increased import prices for cocoa.
Cultivation in Ivory Coast and Ghana is particularly problematic. According to the bank ING, almost three quarters of the global supply comes from this region. The Ivory Coast alone accounts for around 44 percent, while number two Ghana contributes around 14 percent to the global supply.
Last year it rained particularly heavily in the region, while this year it was dry. Both have further increased the existing supply deficit on the market, explains ING raw materials expert Warren Patterson.
The importance of climate change
“Extreme weather events such as prolonged periods of drought, heavy rain or floods lead to lower yields and quality and even to completely destroyed harvests,” explained WWF speaker Kerstin Weber. She explained that although this drives up prices, these increases have far too little impact on farmers.
In many areas, cocoa cultivation only has a future if the necessary measures to adapt to climate change are taken in good time, explained the WWF. This included natural, diversified agroforestry systems with as many different tree and plant species as possible. The WWF warned against the loss of sources of income due to climate change.