| Commodity market sources have denounced claims by some European chocolate manufacturers that speculators drove up the cost of cocoa last year, an indication of their negative impact on the market. |
The Association of the German Confectionery Industry (BDSI) issued a statement complaining speculators were responsible for inflating prices, pointing to a more than 18 percent drop in world cocoa prices since hitting $3,378 per ton — a 25-year high — in December. |
However, Promar International, Inc.’s commodity expert Tom Earley tells Candy & Snack TODAY speculators do have a role to play because they bring liquidity to the market. |
Meanwhile, greater supply is expected to continue to bring cocoa prices down, with the International Cocoa Organization’s (ICCO) March 3, 2010 forecast showing cocoa production and grinding estimates increasing one and 2.5 percent, respectively, compared with 2009 figures. Read more at www.candyandsnacktoday.com |
| The Sugar Policy Alliance has called on Congress to ease sugar import quotas, citing price inflation and reduced availability. |
The Alliance, which includes The Hershey Co., Kraft Foods, Inc. and others, wrote a letter to members of Congress as world sugar prices hit a 27-year high. |
Chairman of the Alliance, and NCA President, Larry Graham said: “Sugar prices are now higher than they were in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which closed two Gulf Coast sugar refineries and created major disruption in the industry. Yet USDA has not recognized the seriousness of the situation and has made no move to increase import quotas.” |
| White sugar futures has hit a record high for a seventh straight trading session and dealers predicted further rises through $750 (€524) a tonne soon driven by increasing import demand by top consumer India. |
Raw sugar nudged close to a 29-year high on prospects for strong demand by key markets, including Indonesia, Egypt and Pakistan. This is despite countered pressure from the stronger dollar. |
$1 USD is about 46 Indian Rupees so 50 Rs is about $1.10. That is about $.50 per pound. | Sugar prices touched a record high of Rs 4,250 per quintal in the Delhi wholesale market raising apprehension that retail prices could even go up to Rs 50 a kg. High prices could also trigger a marginal hike in prices of biscuits, confectionery, chocolates, cold drinks and other processed foods of urban mass consumption. The actual reason for the sharp hike in price could be lower estimates for sugar output this year, compared to the earlier projections of 16 million tonnes. Industry monitors now project sugar production at only 15.5mt, at best. Read more at www.imagesfood.com |
| A strong start to Ivory Coast’s cocoa season has brightened the outlook for the full-year harvest in the world’s top supplier, which exporters had worried would plumb a fresh multi-year low. |
Cocoa output in the first six weeks of the season, which began on October 1, is running more than 75 percent ahead of last year and is topping the five-year average thanks to favourable weather in the principal growing regions. |
International cocoa markets closely watch production in Ivory Coast, source of 40 percent of the world’s beans, particularly after the weakest harvest since 2004 last year helped drive prices to 30-year highs. Read more at af.reuters.com |
| 20 November 2009 - Sunny Verghese, CEO of Olam International, one of the world’s leading suppliers of cotton, cocoa, sugar and rice, said that he believes that global cocoa demand will increase if the current consolidation talks between major players in the global confectionery market materialise. |
Olam, which supplies cocoa and cocoa raw materials to companies such as Kraft Foods, Cadbury, Ferrero and Hershey, would benefit from an eventual merger if extra competitive advantage is created as a result of further consolidation. Read more at www.flex-news-food.com |
A third quarter report from the Intercontinental Exchange shows 118,405 metric tons of ground cocoa in 2009, compared with 118,991 metric tons in 2008, a decrease of 0.49 percent. Second quarter cocoa grindings were 105,123 metric tons in 2009 compared with 112,736 metric tons in 2008, a decrease of 6.75 percent. |
NCA Senior Vice-President of Public Affairs Susan Smith explains this quarterly report is one factor in the big picture of yearly trends, which play a role in determining whether per pound consumption of cocoa products is increasing or decreasing. |
“People might have an estimate for how cocoa grinds are going to end up, and if the actual numbers ground are not in line with what they expect, sometimes these reports can help them make decisions about the volume of cocoa that they might buy or sell on the exchange and when to do it,” Smith says. Read more at www.candyandsnacktoday.com |
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Cocoa Speculators Under Fire
