Weather conditions will become more favorable, which will lead to an increase in world production of cocoa beans by about 10%, causing their supply to exceed demand for the first time in four seasons, US media reported.
However, the spread of chocolate tree diseases will hardly allow a return to previous prices. According to analysts at Fitch Solutions, quoted by the publication, the price of cocoa futures could fall from $11,000 to $7,000 per ton, while their average price over the past decade has been less than $2,000.
Other factors that will keep prices at a relatively high level, as the agency notes, are the policies of the authorities of countries - exporters of cocoa, preventing foreign investment in its production. Such countries are primarily Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire.
As for other major players in the cocoa market, Cameroon and Nigeria, which benefited from the recent price increase, also expect production growth while hoping for a continuation of the current price trend.