The cost of cocoa beans continues to reach historical highs. May futures for cocoa beans at trading on Thursday, April 18, rose in price by 9.14% and at their peak reached £9,649 ($12,035 thousand) per ton, according to ICE Futures data.
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Trading on the stock exchange
Previous historical maximum prices for cocoa beans was recorded on April 16, 2024, then the price reached £9,312 ($11,611 thousand) per ton.
By 13:02, the price increase slowed to 5.18%, and futures were trading at the price of £ 9299 ($11.594 thousand). In total, since the beginning of the year, quotes have soared by more than 150% (to the closing level of trading on April 17).
The reason for the rise in price
According to Bloomberg, the planting of cocoa trees in Nigeria and the harvest in the middle years are in jeopardy. The Nigeria Hydrological Service Agency has warned of severe flooding in the country's main cocoa growing areas, the newspaper writes.
“Nigeria's flood-prone areas include Ondo, Cross River, Osun, Oyo, Ogun, Taraba and Delta,” — said Nigeria's Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation Joseph Utsev on Wednesday. These areas account for 94% of the country's cocoa production.
The West African country, the world's fifth-largest cocoa producer, is expected to drop to 225,000 tonnes in 2024, down from a previous forecast of 280,000 .-300 thousand tons. This was reported in February by the Cocoa Producers Association of Nigeria.
