ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire – The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) has released its revised forecasts for the 2023/24 cocoa year and revised estimates of world production, grindings and stocks of cocoa beans for the 2022/23 cocoa year. The data published in Issue No. 3 – Volume L – cocoa year 2023/24 of the Quarterly Bulletin of Cocoa Statistics, reflect the most recent information available to the Secretariat as at the beginning of August 2024.
Global supply remains low and the Bulletin outlines factors including adverse weather conditions, aged trees, pests and diseases that affected production in major cocoa growing areas during the season under review.
Taking into account available trade data and published grindings data, cocoa demand outstripped global supply.
Considering the market balance, a production deficit of 462,000 tonnes is forecast for the 2023/24 season. Total end-of-season stocks are envisaged at 1.324 million tonnes. This results in a 45-year low stocks-to-grindings ratio of 27.9%.
Though prices have recently experienced a descent from their historic rallies, they remain relatively high as the supply constraints persist. A review of price developments on international markets for cocoa beans during the April-June quarter of 2024 is also presented.
Statistical information on trade in cocoa beans, cocoa products and chocolate, by country and by region, published in this edition, covers crop year data from 2020/21 to 2022/23 and quarterly statistics for the period July-September 2022 to January-March 2024. Details of origin of imports and destination of exports for leading cocoa importing countries are also provided.
Caution should be exercised in the interpretation of the data in this issue of the Bulletin as they may be subject to revisions in subsequent Bulletins and reports from the Secretariat.
Copies of the Quarterly Bulletin of Cocoa Statistics, in Microsoft Excel and Adobe PDF formats, can be ordered from the ICCO e-Shop: www.icco.org/shop or by email: statistics.section@icco.org
