Cocoa Supply Swells
February 14, 2017 | 1 min to read
Buying your sweetheart a box of Valentine’s Day chocolates could be cheaper this year thanks to booming cocoa supplies.
Growers are collecting bigger harvests in Latin America and in West Africa, which accounts for about 70 percent of global production. The output gains have pushed cocoa futures to the lowest since 2008, cutting costs for companies including Mondelez International Inc., the maker of Cadbury chocolates and Oreo cookies.
Declines in the futures market are starting to translate to cheaper confections. That’s good news for romantics, since a survey by the Washington-based National Confectioners Association found that 70 percent of Americans will give chocolate or candy to their Valentine. The goodies will probably stay cheap even beyond the amorous holiday, celebrated on Feb. 14. Hedge funds are making a record bet that cocoa prices will keep slumping.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Bloomberg