BYCBF - Halloween spooks? Consumers watch as cocoa prices hit 44-year high
2023-10-24 05:06:51 ET
As Halloween approaches, it looks like candies could become more expensive as hotter and drier weather is tightening the global cocoa supply.
Cocoa has become the costliest it has been in decades, as El Niño rages on in countries that produce the key ingredient for chocolate, resulting in poor crop growth.
Cocoa futures ( CC1:COM ) in New York jumped as much as 2.5% to $3,786 per metric ton on Monday, the highest level seen in over 44 years.
El Niño is expected to last till March 2024, with an up to 85% chance it will intensify during November-January.
The 2022/23 season has already seen a deficit of ~100K tons of cocoa, the International Cocoa Organization estimated . In addition, hoarding of cocoa beans was seen in top cocoa producers Ivory Coast and Ghana, fueled by expectations of higher prices.
The increase in prices may boost costs for chocolate makers, although it remains to be seen if the companies will absorb the costs or pass them on to consumers. At any rate, cocoa demand continues to be robust.
Related stocks - Hershey ( HSY ), Mondelez ( MDLZ ), Barry Callebaut ( OTCPK:BYCBF ), and Nestle ( OTCPK:NSRGY ) , Lindt & Sprungli ( OTCPK:LDSVF )
More on cocoa
For further details see:
Halloween spooks? Consumers watch as cocoa prices hit 44-year high