LONDON - World cocoa prices rose back above $10,000 a ton on Thursday, heading towards the year's record peaks as the chocolate industry's supply crisis worsened after top producer Ivory Coast halted bean exports for June and forward sales for next season.
"Its a massive problem, Ivory Coast and Ghana are 30% below last year in terms of crop size. No-one knows how to make up for the missing cocoa, there isn't enough near-term beans to supply the market," said a dealer. The world's largest cocoa producer has meanwhile also halted forward sales of next season's crop at 940,000 metric tons, some 35% less than a year ago, as it awaits more clarity on expected production.
The country regularly sells one year forward about 80% of its crop - which usually totals 750,000-850,000 tons, but its current crop is not expected to exceed 500,000 tons and traders fear it might not rebound significantly next season.In other soft commodities traded, July raw sugar was up 2.8% at 1650 GMT at 19.64 cents per lb, while August white sugar was up 2.3% at $567.80 a ton.