May ICE NY cocoa closed at $1, which is a 0.03% increase, while May ICE London cocoa rose by $14 (0.59%) on Friday. Cocoa prices have been under pressure recently, reaching three-week lows due to expectations of a larger crop in West Africa, specifically from the Ivory Coast and Ghana, where consistent rains have aided pod development.
Current ICE cocoa inventories have surged to an eight-month high of 2,357,294 bags. In recent news, Ghana reduced the price paid to cocoa farmers by nearly 30% for the 2025/26 growing season, while the Ivory Coast announced a 57% cut in farmer pay for mid-crop harvests starting this month. Together, these two countries produce over half of the world’s cocoa.
Cocoa deliveries from the Ivory Coast are down 2.8% from last year, with shipments totaling 1.39 million metric tons for the current marketing year through March 22. Additionally, a decline in sales volume and grindings in the cocoa industry reflects growing demand concerns, as seen by Barry Callebaut AG’s 22% drop in cocoa division sales for Q4 2023 and an 8.3% year-on-year decline in European cocoa grindings.
