Cocoa's Soaring Prices: Impact on Easter and Chocolate Market

The global cocoa market is facing unprecedented shortages, leading to a relentless rally in prices that has upended physical trading and is now filtering rapidly through to the futures market. Poor harvests in West Africa, climate change, and crop disease have sparked a third year of shortages, with fears of long-lasting impacts. The surge in cocoa prices is causing stress across the industry, with companies like Barry Callebaut and Acomo NV feeling the pinch. The shortages are roiling the futures market, forcing traders to come up with more money to cover margin calls and creating a vicious circle. The industry is bracing for a tough market and potentially higher prices, with concerns about liquidity in the futures market drying up.