Cocoa Prices Surge on Ebola Fears

[Shiloh]

Source: http://online.wsj.com/articles/cocoa...ars-1411137838


Cocoa Prices Surge on Ebola Fears
Concerns Grow Over Possible Disruption of Supply Chain in West Africa

The deadly Ebola virus spreading through West Africa is sparking fears in the market that supplies of cocoa, one of the region's top exports, could be disrupted.

Prices for the key chocolate ingredient have surged by over 6% this week and are closing in on a three-year high on mounting concerns that the outbreak will reach the Ivory Coast or Ghana, which produce about 60% of the world's cocoa. No cases have been reported in either country. But Ivory Coast shares a poorly policed border with Liberia and Guinea, two of the countries hardest hit by Ebola...

[JJackson]

Re: Cocoa Prices Surge on Ebola Fears

http://www.oecd.org/swac/ourwork/cocoa-childlabour.htm

From WHO roadmap 18 Sept.

[Pathfinder]

Re: Cocoa Prices Surge on Ebola Fears

Translation Google

Cocoa production is closer to 2 million tons in Ivory Coast

Posted by The Editor | Monday, August 25, 2014

Ivory Coast - Ivory Coast, the world's largest cocoa producer, will see its production of this product rise to nearly 1.7 million tonnes for the campaign 2013- 2014, against 1.4 million planned, we learned from official sources.

This increase, announced Friday during the examination of amending the state budget by the National Assembly, is partly due to good rainfall but also to actions by professional organizations in the sector, said the president of Ivorian Federation of the producers of coffee - cocoa (FIPCC), Ibrahim Issa Kone.

To believe Mr. Ibrahim, "there is also the new cocoa varieties that lead to the boom."

C?te d'Ivoire has introduced new orchards with new seeds developed by the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), called "Cocoa Mercedes", which have a yield of two tons per hectare against 400 kg per hectare by the old varieties.

On May 20 in Abidjan, large cocoa companies have signed a declaration of intent for the joint implementation of a development plan for the sector, called "Cocoa Action" which is expected to triple production in C?te ivory.

The program aims to fight against the "swollen shoot" disease devastating orchards, and to contribute to improving the living conditions of the Ivorian population with the creation of health centers and schools. The coffee and cocoa, the main natural resource of C?te d'Ivoire, represents nearly 70% of exports of primary products and 15% of GDP.

Ivory Coast provides 36% of world cocoa with 1.3 million tons of beans produced in 2013

End Xinhua

http://www.connectionivoirienne.net/102476/production-cacao-se-rapproche-2-millions-tonnes-annee-en-cote-divoire

[Pathfinder]

Re: Cocoa Prices Surge on Ebola Fears

Cocoa prices surge on output fears over Ebola outbreak

September 28, 2014
AFP
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Ebola outbreak threatens producers - COCOA: Prices rocketed to levels last seen in spring 2011 as traders fretted over the deadly Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa, home to most of the world?s production. Over the past fortnight, cocoa prices jumped by about ten percent as fears escalated that the epidemic could spread to top exporters Ghana and Ivory Coast.

The market rallied Thursday to ?2,187 per tonne in London and $3,399 per tonne in New York, the highest points for three and a half years. Health systems in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea have been overwhelmed by the epidemic, which has infected more than 6,200 people in west Africa and killed nearly half of them since late last year. ?Ebola continues to spread and as it approaches the world?s largest production region of Ivory Coast and Ghana worries of disruptions to supplies have increased,? said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen. ?October is a critical month for the cocoa market as it signals the beginning of the harvest. Any disruptions in transportation or labour shortages in the world?s two largest producers could have a significant positive impact on the price.? ?As a result of these worries and speculative buyers jumping in, the price reached a 3.5-year high.? The New York market could potentially beat the previous record high of $3,826 per tonne, set in 2011 when Ivory Coast?s civil war sparked major supply disruptions.

?So far neither the Ivory Coast or Ghana .. have had confirmed cases of Ebola ... and both countries have closed their borders with affected countries to try and reduce the threat,? Capital Economics analyst Thomas Pugh told AFP. ?However, many of the workers who pick cocoa plants migrate from the affected countries, so supply could be damaged if these migrant workers aren?t around to pick the crop. This is probably contributing to the rise in prices.? Ghana and Ivory Coast account for 60 percent of global cocoa output, while West Africa produces 72 percent of the world?s cocoa. ?If these two countries were to be seriously hit by Ebola then prices could soar?maybe double,? Pugh added. ?Workers would stay away as much due to people?s fear of crowded places such as work, as from actual deaths from Ebola.? Ecobank analyst Edward George added both nations had a ?fragmented? cocoa sector which relied on farmers transporting their own crops in a ?disjointed? fashion. ?The entire sector is fragmented, we?re talking hundreds of thousands of farmers with plots of one and a half hectares or two hectares,? George told AFP. ?All of the buying is disjointed; it?s individuals going around on motorbikes, in cars and trucks buying cocoa. ?So if there were an outbreak in this zone you would have to suspend all purchases. Imagine taking 60 percent of the world cocoa off the market at the beginning of the season?you could see a dramatic increase in prices.?
...

http://nation.com.pk/business/28-Sep-2014/cocoa-prices-surge-on-output-fears-over-ebola-outbreak