May News Roundup & AMA | #PodSaveChocolate

NEW YORK: Cocoa futures prices on ICE lost nearly 10% this week, as failure to go higher drove the market to some…

Cocoa increased 4,249.49 USD/MT or 101.27% since the beginning of 2024, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Cocoa - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on May of 2024.

Today’s Cocoa prices with latest Cocoa charts, news and Cocoa futures quotes.

Cocoa prices have nearly tripled in value this year. The previous high of $4,854/MT for cocoa bean futures was set in July 1977 on the spot ICE New York exchange. This was surpassed in February 2024, and spot prices have continued their meteoric rise to trade at around $8,400/MT as of the beginning of May, according to Mintec Analytics. On the ICE London spot futures contract, prices traded at around £7,800/MT as of the beginning of May, marking a 220% increase year-on-year.

An op­por­tu­ni­ty from the past agri­cul­tur­al-based econ­o­my has arisen in the present. The price of raw co­coa on the in­ter­na­tion­al mar­ket has in­creased. Con­se­quent­ly, and nat­u­ral­ly, so too the prices for the fin­ished prod­ucts de­rived from co­coa, choco­late, choco­late-based drinks, ice cream and oth­er forms in­to which co­coa is processed.

Across the entire cocoa sector, there are broad-based efforts underway to help cocoa-farming households achieve a living income. But how do we know which ones will work the best?

New methodology for measuring cocoa farmer household income promises to serve as a strong standard for the sector.

A sector-wide approach to assessing the living income status of households in the cocoa sector The cocoa sector has been working to deliver living incomes for cocoa farming households since 2015, but learning at the sector level aimed at achieving living incomes has been hampered by challenges in data collection and sharing. To address these […]

This major study aims to contribute to the cocoa sector’s body of knowledge and provide a solid evidence base to test common assumptions and beliefs. The research covers issues such as household demographics, food security and nutrition, and crop choices and crop diversification. Specific to cocoa, the study investigates why households grow cocoa, and analyses […]

The Living Income Community of Practice, co-hosted by GIZ, ISEAL and the Sustainable Food Lab and the GIZ Programme “Sustainable Supply Chains and Standards” are currently calculating ‘Living Income’ Benchmarks for the cocoa producing regions in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The Living Income Benchmark studies estimate the net income required for a decent standard of […]

It is often claimed that cocoa producers are poor, but the extent of their poverty is rarely defined. We analyzed six data sets derived from household questionnaires of 385–88,896 cocoa producers in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Across all data sets, many households (30–58%) earn a gross income below the World Bank extreme poverty line and the majority (73–90%) do not earn a Living Income. Households with less income per person per day generally achieve lower cocoa yields, consist of more household members, have a smaller land size available, and rely more on cocoa income than households with higher incomes. When comparing the effects of increasing prices and yields on gross income, yield increases lead to larger benefits especially for the poorest households. Doubling the cocoa price would leave 15–25% of households with a gross income below the extreme poverty line and 53–65% below the Living Income benchmark. At yields of 600 kg/ha, against current yields around 300 kg/ha, these percentages are reduced to 7–11 and 48–62%, respectively, while at yields of 1,500 kg/ha only 1–2% of households remain below the extreme poverty line and 13–20% below the Living Income benchmark. If we assume that the production costs of achieving a yield of 1,500 kg/ha are 30% of revenue, still only 2–4% of households earn a net income below the extreme poverty line and 25–32% below the Living Income benchmark. Whilst sustainable intensification of cocoa production is undoubtedly a strong approach…

With cocoa prices rising and sourcing scarce, companies are looking to alternatives and raising more than $110 million in equity funding, according to a recent report.

The plant-based pioneer had its eighth straight quarter of revenue declines, but Ethan Brown is confident sales will pick up in the second half of the year.

With the new European Union Deforestation Regulation on the horizon, should the industry adopt a more responsible approach to procurement when sourcing cocoa beans and other ingredients? Sign up for our free webinar to discuss!

In a major update, Nestlé says its income accelerator programme is helping cocoa farmers substantially improve cocoa productivity and increase their net income.

Episode 35 of #PodSaveChocolate is a discussion about the current high cost of cocoa focusing more on why and how, than what.

Episode 36 of #PodSaveChocolate is a continuation of the discussion about the current high cost of cocoa focusing more on why and how, than what begun in Episode 35.

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Brussels — During an event held in Brussels in April, an investigation unveiled that companies procuring cocoa from Côte d’Ivoire are contributing to the deforestation of forests in neighboring Liberia. The findings of the on-site investigation, presented by Bakary Traoré, a representative of IDEF, highlight that the traceability mechanisms employed by these companies are flawed

Plantation and commodities minister Johari Ghani says the Malaysian Cocoa Board will invest RM9.5 million in the cocoa plantation and rehabilitation projects.

News, views, and conversations on topics in cocoa and chocolate streamed live to YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook. #PodSaveChocolate!

News, views, and conversations on topics in cocoa and chocolate streamed live to YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook.