As Cargill expands its cocoa farmer training programme in the Ivory Coast this month, we caught up with managing director of Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate, Harold Poelma, to hear about developments in the sourcing of sustainably derived cocoa and his...
Cocoa futures in New York hit their lowest price since September yesterday on signs of increased production in Ivory Coast, which is the leading global supplier.
Cocoa bean crop quality and yield is benefiting from a farmer training programme in the Ivory Coast, which is set to be extended to a wider number of farmer cooperatives this month, said Cargill.
Growth in sugar confectionery weakened but the chocolate sector continued to perform well for Nestlé, according to the global food giant’s third quarter results.
Cadbury said it may have to further raise its prices for 2010 as the cost of cocoa has remained stubbornly high, economic conditions are turbulent and markets competitive.
Barry Callebaut is a step closer to boasting about the antidepressant properties of cocoa on its product labels after a study funded by the company found that it could have a mood-lifting effect.
The Ivory Coast is taking steps to protect its cocoa industry with a plan to improve the quality of its crop which is said to have fallen in standards over the last decade, according to reports.
London cocoa prices hit a 23-year high at the end of December, but emerging questions about consumer demand could see prices fall in 2009, according to the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO).
Troubles for West African cocoa supplies look set to continue following reports that the harmattan, a harsh, crop-damaging wind, has begun to sweep in from the Sahara.
Five US-based chocolate producers have collaborated to found Craft Chocolate Makers of America (CCMA), a body to represent issues facing the craft end of the chocolate industry.
Cocoa prices have proved resilient in the economic downturn, even as other commodity prices have slumped, and confectionery manufacturers are concerned that tight supply will keep prices high for some time yet.
With sustainability a buzz word for today's confectionery makers, a symposium that kicked off in Ghana today will attempt to get to grips with current issues impacting sustainability in Africa's cocoa supply chain.
After two years of spiralling upward costs, an easing in soft commodity prices across the board could reduce manufacturing input costs for confectioners.
Costs for cocoa have fallen from a peak of $3000 per tonne in July, to $2551.33 on Monday, but reports of the damaging black pod disease in Ivory Coast could drive prices upwards, compounded by political uncertainty that may see chocolate buyers eager...
Cocobod, the cocoa regulator for Ghana, has raised the fixed price it pays to farmers, a move that may not directly impact cocoa processors and buyers but could ultimately result in upward pressure on prices.
Focusing further on cocoa bean sourcing and processing, Zurich-based Barry Callebaut spins-off Chococam, the last of its consumer activities in Africa, to South African food firm Tiger Brands.
The Vietnamese government estimates its overall cocoa crop will
reach 45,000 tonnes by 2015, aiming to make the catch the attention
of chocolate manufacturers around the world, according to Reuters.
Agricultural firm Cargill has started construction of a new cocoa
processing facility in Ghana, in an expansion move designed to meet
increasing global demand for cocoa products.
The International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) has revised its gloomy
cocoa estimate of a 5,000 tonne deficit to predict a global surplus
of 80,000 tonnes of cocoa in the coming year, assuring
manufacturers of a steady supply.
Singapore-based cocoa bean supplier Olam has jointly acquired the
Cameroon cocoa processor Usicam with ADM, the world's largest cocoa
processor, giving both firms greater economy of scale in the
African market.
Cocoa bean producer Pan Sino International has announced plans to
build Singapore's largest cocoa processing plant, increasing cocoa
bean supply for manufacturers.
Democrats Tom Harkin and Eliot L. Engel wrote a hard-hitting piece
in the LA Times on Monday about the human cost of the chocolate
trade, but the cocoa industry has hit back by reaffirming its
commitment to responsible farming.
Barry Callebaut, the world's leading supplier of chocolate to the
confectionery industry, has reported a 6 per cent fall in first
quarter sales revenues to CHF1.15bn (€0.79bn) as squeezed margins
bit into its bottom line. The...
Ladco Advanced Engineering, the parent company of Scotland-based
MacIntyre Chocolate Systems, has acquired Petzholdt-Heidenauer
International, in a bid to extend both companies' global reach in
the competitive chocolate processing...
Prices remain steady for cocoa, despite news that the start of the
new cocoa harvesting season from the world's biggest producer,
Ivory Coast, has been delayed due to a dispute.
Hanging as a persistent threat to the chocolate industry witches'
broom disease is capable of wiping out entire cacao crops and
sending the price of chocolate rocketing. Despite ongoing research
into the threat confirmed by the...
Global chocolate supplier Barry Callebaut said that recent
acquisitions had boosted its six month figures, with net profit
showing double-digit growth. But low cocoa prices affected
activities at the processing arm of the company.
War and disease have marked volatile prices for cocoa in the past
three years, peaking at 17 year highs in 2002 when the Ivory Coast
- source of two fifths of the world cocoa crop - endured civil war.
Research into genomes could contribute...
The Nordic region's leading confectionery maker, Cloetta Fazer, has
said that it expects the price of cocoa beans, a key raw material
for many of its products, to remain stable for the rest of this
year.
The Ghana Cocoa Board (GCB) has secured a US$650 million loan to
purchase cocoa for the 2003/2004 cocoa season. The
facility,repayable within a year, was arranged by four leading
banks.
There have been a raft of Fairtrade products launched in the UK in
recent months, led mainly by the retailer Co-op, but the latest
launch comes from Cafédirect - a 100 per cent Fairtrade drinking
chocolate targeting the high-growth...