Experts said the global market will remain in short supply of cocoa beans for the third consecutive year

World production of cocoa beans in the current crop year (2023-2024) will decrease by 11% to 4.45 million tons compared to the previous year. This was reported by the International Cocoa Organization headquartered in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire).

Thus, for the third consecutive year, the world cocoa bean market will be in deficit, it notes. The deficit of cocoa beans in the world market in 2024 will be 375 thousand tons by September, compared to 74 thousand a year earlier.

The reason for the further decline in global cocoa bean production is the loss of part of the crop in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, which are their largest suppliers. The decline is due to both natural conditions and tree diseases. The cocoa bean crop is estimated at 1.8 million tons in Côte d’Ivoire, down from 2.24 million a year earlier. For Ghana, the figures are 580,000 tons of cocoa beans compared to 654,000 tons a year ago.

Concerns about a possible shortage of cocoa beans have already led to a sharp rise in cocoa bean prices. They have increased by almost 50% in 2024. At the end of February, global exchange prices for cocoa beans set a historic high of $6,929 per ton. Since then, they have weakened somewhat.