Posted on 12/25/2008 10:05:53 AM PST by null and void
Cocoa prices on Tuesday surged to a 23-year high as speculative investors poured into the market amid concerns about dwindling supplies from Ivory Coast, by far the world’s largest producer.
Prices for cocoa have risen 70 per cent in the past year, bucking the weakness in overall commodities prices.
The drop in sterling has helped push London-based, sterling-denominated cocoa futures higher, but analysts said the main factor was low supplies.
The International Cocoa Organisation said in its latest monthly report that cocoa bean arrivals until the end of November at ports in Ivory Coast, which provides almost 40 per cent of the world’s supplies, were the lowest in years.
“Only 251,000 tonnes of beans are estimated to have reached the local ports during the first two months of the current season, a level around 40 per cent below average for the four preceding seasons,” it said.
The problem has continued in December – the traditional peak of the harvesting season – because of the impact of cold weather and heavy rains earlier this year, the so-called black pod disease, reduced use of fertiliser because of high prices and a spate of strikes among farmers and customs personnel, traders said. They added that cocoa supplies from Ivory Coast’s west African neighbour Ghana, the second largest producer, were also lower than last season.
As a result, Fortis bank warned that the market faces its third seasonal deficit in a row, further depleting global stocks, which are already at a 20-year low. Inventories are at 39 per cent of global consumption, down from 54 per cent in 2005-06.
In London, Euronext.Liffe cocoa for delivery in May, the market benchmark, on Tuesday jumped to £1,820 a tonne, the highest since October 1985, and 4 per cent higher on the day. New York cocoa futures, denominated in dollars, have risen almost 30 per cent in the past year.
Fortis, nevertheless, said the market was overbought, warning that traders were “fully discounting that, on the production side, everything that can go wrong . . . will indeed go wrong”, without paying attention to lower demand because of the impact of the economic crisis.
Although cocoa consumption has been in the past resilient to economic downturns, traders forecast a drop next year, particularly in the US and Europe.
ping
Now, we are doomed.
Doomed, I tell ya!
Merry Christmas, Nully!
For the curious. #1 was a great example of eye candy.
I missed it.
OK. You guys BETTER NOT mess with my chocolate supply. If Chocolate and Single Malt dissapear then I am coming after all these commies with my semi automatic and my empty bottles and used chocolate wrappers.
Merry Christmas, eh?
You’ll have the Sow Section 5 as your backup.
I am so pissed I never thought to invest in cocoa. I didn’t even know you could.
Sounds like the oil speculators have found a new commodity to play with.
The speculators are leaving gasoline alone and running up the price of Cocoa. Thats fine I can live without Cocoa, but its tough with no fuel.
Perhaps the Mod Squad will allow a link?
Uh, yeah. Hoser.
;-)
Heathen!
Funny, I’m sure I’ve seen that posted here before.
Maybe the morning Mod got coal in their stocking?
But since it's almost out, I bought an 8-oz can at the store last week. It was $2.88 for 8 oz. I thought that can't be right but the only other choc I bought were 6 Hershey's bars for S'mores, and they were $2.88, too.
I mainly use it for hot cocoa, occasionally for baking, but use more of the baking bars and chips. Now those will turn discolored on the edges but still be ok for awhile, then they may get rancid, I use them pretty fast.
For hot cocoa, I mix cocoa and sugar, add a dash of salt and a little water, stir and heat to boiling, then add 1 can evaporated milk and finish with 2% milk, and heat until it steams, don't use an exact recipe. I always liked the skin on the top :-). I prefer this one, but there is one you can mix with Nestles, powdered sugar, dry milk (watch the brand, all are not equal) and coffee creamer, kids loved it, but I haven't done that for years.
Somebody may have a better way to do it. My favorite way leaves chocolate residue on the bottom because it won't completely dissolve.
Was that a picture of Nicole Austin aka Coco, Ice-T’s wife?
I’m sure you have. I’ve posted it many times.
Sounds reasonable to me.
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