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Cocoa prices are hitting historic highs, as Western commodities markets are registering deficits of 478,000 tons of cocoa beans.
This is the result of a strategy by West African countries Ghana and Ivory Coast, the two biggest suppliers of cocoa to global markets. Beginning in 2019, they partnered with Chinese firms to process their cocoa in-country, and to sell their product directly to Chinese companies.
By cutting out speculators and traders in Western brokerages, and going around marketing and branding companies in the US and Switzerland, producers in Africa and their buyers in China keep far larger profits for themselves. West African suppliers more than double their exports by grinding their cocoa beans in-country, and Chinese firms realize far higher margins and a guaranteed supply of the world's high-quality processed cocoas.
Resources and links:
Substack, for video transcript and direct links
https://kdwalmsley.substack.co....m/p/now-its-chocolat
Swiss Info, Can China help African cocoa producers outmanoeuvre Big Chocolate?
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/b....usiness/can-china-he
China’s Chocolate Market – Trends and Industry Overview
https://www.china-briefing.com..../news/chinas-chocola
CNBC, Cocoa prices climb to new record high, prompting fresh warnings about extreme volatility
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/1....7/cocoa-prices-rally
Chart, 2024 coco prices
https://www.instagram.com/navi....amarkets/p/DECxW-OhJ
The chocolate price spike: what’s happening to global cocoa production?
https://www.sustainabilitybynu....mbers.com/p/cocoa-pr
ING, Tightness lingers in the cocoa and coffee market
https://think.ing.com/articles..../tightness-lingers-i
Closing scene, Mount Wuyi River, Fujian province