COCOA MARKET


The ICCO daily price for cocoa beans was $2,378 per ton on 5/9/2013 down from $2,417 on 5/8/2013.

Farmers in Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest cocoa producer, say they can’t sell supplies from the country’s mid-crop harvest because dry weather left beans too small to meet minimum requirements.

Grindings in the U.S., a measure of demand, rose 5.8% to 125,887 metric tons from a year earlier, as of March 31,2013. Demand for cocoa could be slipping in Europe, the world's largest chocolate consumer. European Cocoa Association reported a 6.2% drop in the region's cocoa grindings in the fourth quarter of 2012. Cocoa grindings, which measure how much cocoa is processed, are seen as a barometer of demand for chocolate.

The amount paid to farmers in the Ivory Coast, or the so-called farmgate price, is now 700 CFA ($1.37) down from 725 CFA in March, compared with 900 CFA or equivalent in Ghana and Cameroon. There are concerns that a fall in the farmer price could lead to larger deficits in future years as growers turn away from the crop. While farmers receive around the same price for rubber as they do for cocoa, the former produces a crop for almost 10 months of the year, compared with just six months for cocoa. A well-maintained rubber plantation will also typically outlast a cocoa field.




Cocoa arrivals at ports in Côte d’Ivoire reached 1,026,000 tons by March 31,2013 compared to 1,047,364 tons for the corresponding period of the previous season. Cocoa purchases reported by the Ghana Cocoa Board were 601,303 tons, representing a decline of 16%. With cocoa exports from Indonesia declining, analysts are of the view that more pressure will be on West Africa.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security | U.S. Customs and Border Protection | U.S. Ports of Entry | U.S. Department of Commerce.




COCOA PRODUCTION



Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria and Cameroon produce 38%, 21%, 13%, 5% respectively. Eight countries represent 90% of world supply: Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Brazil, Ecuador, Malaysia.

Cameroon, West Africa’s fourth- biggest cocoa grower, wants to boost the quality of its crop to sustain exports to Europe. The government started a campaign to stop farmers from drying beans on tarmacked roads. The practice contaminates beans with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which is banned in the 27-nation European Union. Prices in Kumba region, rose to 900 CFA ($1.78) per kg in March.

According to a survey of traders and chocolate manufacturers, the midcrop in the Ivory Coast looks set to a total of 400,000 tons. The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) even puts it at 440,000 tons. Smaller domestic exporters are struggling to make their quotas as larger multinationals sought to guarantee their supplies for next season. UK-based commodity dealer Armajaro Trading confirmed it had participated in the auctions on Feb. 17 for the first time. The GEPEX group of exporters that accounts for about 55% of Ivory Coast's cocoa exports has agreed to end its boycott of auctions.

COCOA IMPORTS


Netherlands (20.6%), the United States of America (18.5%), Malaysia (10.8%), Germany (8.3%), Belgium (6.0 %), France (4.7%), the United Kingdom (4.2%) and Spain (2.4%) are the largest importers of cocoa beans.

U.S. imports of agricultural products from Cote d’Ivoire totaled $1.0 billion in 2011 including cocoa beans ($741 million). Imports from Ghana were $300 million with $221 million for cocoa beans, as well as cocoa paste and cocoa butter ($48 million). Imports from Cameroon totaled $83 million in 2011 including cocoa paste and cocoa butter ($36 million). More than $56 million worth of cocoa beans were imported from Nigeria in 2011.

Brazil, the world's sixth-ranked cocoa producer, also imports around 60,000 tons of beans annually for processing into products for local consumption and export.

Cocoa imports by Indonesia may more than double, as companies process more beans into powder for chocolate.

FACTS ABOUT YOUR COCOA

At least 250,000 children, most of whom were less than fifteen years old work on cocoa farms in West Africa in the worst possible conditions, and 10,000 children are victims of human trafficking and slavery. See a report from the Payson Center for International Development at Tulane University.



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FAIR TRADE


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The Netherlands imports US$2.1 billion of cocoa beans (42 % of the EU imports) and is the world's top cocoa grinding (37 % of EU grinding).

The 2012/13 season opened in Ivory Coast on Oct. 3 under a sweeping sector reform aimed at improving farmer incomes by fixing a guaranteed farmgate price of 725 CFA ($1.41)/kg, and a port price of 805 CFA ($1.59)/kg. The government of Ghana decided to reduce its share of the export duty drastically in order to raise the producer price. The official purchasing price for cocoa beans is 3,392 cedis/ton or $1,795 per ton. The price difference between these two countries will likely lead to smuggling.

  • African countries account for about 70% of cocoa production while Latin America and Asia are responsible for 30% of cocoa crops.
  • The EU imports more than 80% of its cocoa beans from West Africa.
  • About 5-6 million small cocoa farms provide more than 90% of world cocoa production, while 40-50 million people depend on cocoa for their livelihood.
  • About 60% of Cameroon’s population depends on cocoa, which accounts for 42% of the country’s gross domestic product.
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Shipping your beans


Ivorian officials have remained tight-lipped about the process (twice-daily auctions as part of a major reform of the cocoa sector) and have not officially announced the volumes sold, prices paid or the number of buyers at each auction. Police and army roadblocks, used to extort money from trucking companies, add to the costs of transporting cocoa beans along Ivory Coast's main roads. These illegal "fees" or bribes are 10 times higher than 2 years ago under the former regime and the current government cannot acknowledge that.

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    3. Once a company meets these requirements, discussion will then focus on the quality of the commodities and the seller's ability to follow international and standard procedure.