Abidjan, 20 June 2023 – The International Cocoa Organization releases the Cocoa Market Report for May 2023. The current report highlights the following insights:

• Cocoa futures prices are currently hovering above US$3,000 and £2,300 per tonne in New York and London respectively.
• Recent heavy downpours have been reported in major producing countries and have led to heightened fears of disease outbreaks as well as over the quality of the mid-crop cocoa beans.
• The growing concern over an El Niño climatic phenomenon developing later in the year has been making the headlines.
• though fertilizer prices are progressively declining, historically they are still significantly high and this could deter farmers from its usage, which could in turn affect cocoa production.

You can download the complete report by clicking here.

 

Abidjan, 31 May 2023 – The International Cocoa Organization today releases its revised forecasts for the 2022/23 cocoa year and revised estimates of world production, grindings and stocks of cocoa beans for the 2021/22 cocoa year. The data published in Issue No. 2 – Volume XLIX – Cocoa year 2022/23 of the Quarterly Bulletin of Cocoa Statistics, reflect the most recent information available to the Secretariat as at the beginning of May 2023.

One certainty for the ongoing 2022/23 season is the occurrence of a supply deficit, although compared to the 2021/22 season, the 2022/23 global production is projected to increase by 3.4% to 4.980 million tonnes. Grindings are expected to rise by 1.5% to 5.072 million tonnes.

Although a positive growth in cocoa production is underway for the season under review, yields are likely to be impacted by the weather such as the looming El Niño as well as other factors including diseases, fertilizer inputs, husbandry practices among others.

With regards to the increase in cocoa grindings, the commentary of the Bulletin highlights the recent efforts by top producing countries to move towards the downstream products instead of exporting raw cocoa beans. Indeed, cocoa processing has held up well at origin and this may have caused unintended adverse consequences such as low exports of cocoa beans from top producing countries to importing countries.

Another market development pointed out in the Bulletin is the build-up of cocoa inventories at the exchange, despite the assurance of a supply deficit for the 2022/23 season. Certain possibilities alluded to the relatively high level of stocks at the exchange are mentioned.

A review of price developments on international markets for cocoa beans during the January-March quarter of 2023 is also presented.

Summary of forecasts and revised estimates

 

Cocoa year (Oct-Sep)	2020/2021	2021/2022		Year-on-year change
	Revised estimates	Previous forecasts a/	Revised forecasts
	(thousand tonnes)				(Per cent)
World gross production	4 818	5 017	4 980	+ 162	+ 3.4%
World grindings	4 995	5 027	5 072	+ 77	+ 1.5%
Surplus/deficit b/	– 225	– 60	– 142
End-of-season stocks	1 774	1 652	1 632	– 142	– 8.0%
Stocks/Grindings ratio	35.5%	32.9%	32.2%

Notes:
a/ Estimates published in Quarterly Bulletin of Cocoa Statistics, Vol. XLIX – No. 1 – Cocoa year 2022/23
b/  Surplus/deficit: net world crop (gross crop adjusted for loss in weight) minus grindings. Totals may differ due to rounding

 

Statistical information on trade in cocoa beans, cocoa products and chocolate, by country and by region, published in this edition, covers annual data from 2019/20 to 2021/22 and quarterly statistics for the period April-June 2021 to October-December 2022. Details on destinations of exports and origins of imports for leading cocoa exporting countries are also provided.

Copies of the Quarterly Bulletin of Cocoa Statistics, in Microsoft Excel and Adobe PDF formats, can be ordered from the new ICCO e-Shop: www.icco.org/shop or by email: statistics.section@icco.org

Abidjan, 23 May 2023 – The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) in collaboration with the European Cocoa Association (ECA), the Association of Chocolate, Biscuit and Confectionery Industries of Europe (CAOBISCO), and the Joint Cocoa Research Fund (JRF) has released the fourth edition of the manual of Pesticide Use in Cocoa. This latest edition provides more guidelines on the safe and effective use of pesticides in cocoa production.

Chocolate and other cocoa products are delicacies that people all over the world love and enjoy. The key ingredient in these delicacies is derived from cocoa beans, also known as the “food of the gods”, and popularly renowned for its ancient history as well as its health and nutritional attributes.

The use of chemical control measures to manage cocoa pests and diseases could cause food safety concerns if pesticide application is not done in the prescribed manner, leading to residues above maximum prescribed levels for chemical compounds that are dangerous to the health of the consumers.

Our priority is the production of wholesome cocoa beans, which are safe for consumption. In this respect, the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), in close cooperation with the cocoa industry, publishes a manual of Pesticide Use in Cocoa providing broad guidelines on the choice and application of pesticides used in the cocoa supply chain. The first, second and third editions of the manual were published in 2008, 2010 and 2015 respectively.

The past decade has witnessed a significant change in the food safety and environmental sustainability landscape, calling for greater focus from policy makers on protecting people and the environment. This and other considerations prompted the publication of the fourth edition of the manual to meet the challenges of the times.

We are happy to inform the public, and particularly our stakeholders, of the release of the fourth edition of the manual. This edition is packed with more information on the science and application of pesticides. In addition, there are new sections on policy changes in traceability schemes, EU Green Deal on sustainable use of pesticides, bio-alternatives to chemical control and an analysis of emerging pest threats.

The manual is intuitively designed to be user-friendly, particularly for cocoa farmers and cocoa traders. The manual is also a training guide for agricultural extension agents, agricultural students and staff of cocoa institutions and bodies. The manual will be very useful for cocoa warehouse managers, pesticide manufacturers, pesticide sellers and any other party that desires to know more about the safety of cocoa for consumption.

We encourage wide distribution of this free downloadable manual among stakeholders in cocoa production and trade.  The manual is available for download in digital format from the ICCO website: https://www.icco.org/icco-documentation/pesticide-use-in-cocoa-practial-manual-fourth-edition/

Let us all collaborate to ensure safe cocoa production for consumption and for the pleasure of consumers of chocolate and other cocoa products.