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Prices rising for cocoa beans due to poor harvest in grower countries — trade association

It is noted that since some companies still have inventories of cocoa beans purchased under previously lower prices, the increase will be gradual

MOSCOW, October 30. /TASS/. Global cocoa bean prices are growing amid a poor harvest in key cocoa producing countries, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria, Irina Nagaitseva, spokesperson of the Rusprodsoyuz trade association, told TASS.

"Cocoa bean prices have been growing in the international market since the spring of this year. They climbed above $3,700 per metric ton in late October. This is a record over more than several decades. The driving factor is the crop shortfall in key supplying countries: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria. The situation with the harvest inevitably affects the production cost," she said.

Ruble exchange rate trends are also putting further pressure on prices, Nagaitseva noted. "That’s why we can indeed see a rise in confectionery prices," she added.

Since some companies still have inventories of cocoa beans purchased under previously lower prices, the increase will be gradual, the spokesperson added.

A number of Russian retail chains received notifications from some producers regarding the increase in chocolate prices, Igor Karavaev, presidium chairman of the Association of Retail Trade Companies, told TASS earlier.