On Tuesday, May ICE NY cocoa closed up 145 points (+1.60%) at a one-week high, while May ICE London cocoa rose 129 points (+5.47%), reaching a two-week high. The increase in cocoa prices comes amid ongoing drought concerns in West Africa, specifically in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, where more than half and two-thirds of the countries are experiencing drought conditions, respectively, according to the African Flood and Drought Monitor.
In the current marketing year, cocoa shipments from the Ivory Coast have fallen to 1.43 million metric tons (MMT), a decrease of 0.7% compared to 1.44 MMT last year. Additionally, ICE cocoa inventories reached an 8.25-month high of 2,362,668 bags. The International Cocoa Organization also projected a 75,000 metric ton global cocoa surplus for the 2024/25 season, marking the first surplus in four years, while the Ivory Coast and Ghana produce over half of the world’s cocoa.
