Despite an uptick in August (deliveries ran 48% higher than for the same month a year earlier) overall cocoa production in Nigeria, the world’s fourth largest cocoa producer, was down for the last cocoa year. Total production for 2008-09 amounted to 156,320 tonnes according to a Bloomberg report. That’s over 10,000 tons below the previous year. Yet more confirmation that 2008-09 was a poor year for the largest cocoa producers.
El Niño and Chocolate
Cocoa news just keeps getting worse. After a less than stellar production for the main season in Africa, several predictions claim that future output will also be lower than expected.
The Age Question … Again
I’ve written before about the aging population of cocoa farmers, particularly in Africa where most cocoa is grown. The farmers I met in Ghana all told me that young people rather go to the cities than stay on the cocoa farm. Now a report from Nigeria’s Oyo State confirms this impression.
Chocolate Apparently Not Recession-Proof After All
Quite a few reports recently claimed that chocolate is recession-proof. It made sense, sort of. When everything else is going down the tube, there’s always chocolate–a little treat in hard times and not too expensive. But it it turned out to be just hearsay.
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Cocoa Deliveries Continue to Lag in West Africa
Global cocoa prices seem to be on an upswing after riding the speculative roller coaster up and down earlier this year. The New York closed for March cocoa reached $2,610/ton, a new high after falling as low as $2,080 in November. This time around, though, that increase seems to have some real basis on the ground. There is less cocoa to be had.
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