Figures from grinders including Cargill, Barry Callebaut, Nestlé and Mondelēz show the volumes of cocoa processed in Europe in the first quarter of this year.
Lindt & Sprüngli has reported a double-digit rise in net income as it weathers steep price hikes in key commodities such as cocoa, hazelnuts and almonds.
Weak fourth quarter cocoa grinds in developed markets suggest that consumers have reacted negatively to wholesale chocolate price hikes from the major brands, according to an analyst.
The International Cocoa Organization has quelled media reports of a chocolate crisis in 2020 and says there are sufficient cocoa stocks for the next five years.
Futures exchange company CME Group has made a “strong commitment” in the cocoa market and plans a new contract to rival the IntercontinentalExchange Group (ICE).
Manufacturers can increase the price of chocolate without fear of putting off consumers thus ensuring cocoa farmers are fairly paid, according to executive director of the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO).
Soaring cocoa butter prices have upped the cost of chocolate bar manufacture in Europe by 25% in the past 12 months, according to commodity analysts Mintec, which claims the cocoa deficit will worsen.
Euromonitor International is predicting that demand for cocoa products will not outstrip supply by 2017, contrary to the International Cocoa Organization’s (ICCO) forecasted cocoa deficit.
Spanish chocolate and cocoa processor Natra has more than doubled its operating profit in its ninth-month results helped by relaxing cocoa prices, North American expansion and a shift to value added products.
Confectionery manufacturers are facing increasing cost pressures as cocoa prices reach their highest in over 20 years as cocoa futures prices soared by 3 per cent.
