Cocoa futures closed lower, as reported by Yahoo Finance. December ICE NY cocoa (CCZ25) closed down 23 points, or 0.44%, while December ICE London cocoa #7 (CAZ25) closed down 60 points, or 1.47%.

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The price decline follows an announcement last Friday from the administration of President Donald Trump that it has dropped the 10% reciprocal tariffs on commodities not grown in the U.S., including cocoa. However, U.S. imports of cocoa from Brazil, the world’s fifth-largest cocoa producer in 2023, will still be subject to a 40% U.S. national-security tariff.

Signs of a slowdown in cocoa exports from the Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa producer, provided some positive pressure on prices. Government data from Monday showed that Ivorian farmers shipped 516,787 metric tons of cocoa to ports from October 1 through November 16, a decrease of 5.7% from the 548,494 MT shipped during the same period a year ago.

Since reaching six-week highs in early November, cocoa prices have retreated. This is partly due to expectations of a bumper cocoa crop in West Africa. Reports from Ivory Coast cocoa farmers stated that cocoa trees are doing well and recent dry weather helped harvested beans dry. Farmers in Ghana also reported favorable weather that is allowing cocoa pods to develop quickly.

Chocolate maker Mondelez recently said that the latest cocoa pod count in West Africa is 7% above the five-year average and “materially higher” than last year’s crop. The harvest of the Ivory Coast’s main crop has just begun, and farmers are optimistic about its quality.

Weak global cocoa demand is also bearish for prices. On October 30, the CEO of Hershey said chocolate sales this Halloween season were “disappointing.” Halloween made up nearly 18% of annual U.S. candy sales in 2024. The Cocoa Association of Asia reported on October 17 that Q3 Asia cocoa grindings fell by 17% year-over-year to 183,413 MT, the smallest for a third quarter in nine years. The European Cocoa Association reported on October 16 that Q3 European cocoa grindings fell 4.8% year-over-year to 337,353 MT, the lowest for a third quarter in a decade. The National Confectioners Association reported that Q3 North American cocoa grindings rose 3.2% year-over-year to 112,784 MT, but noted the addition of new reporting companies skewed the data. Separately, North American sales volume of chocolate candy was down more than 21% in the 13 weeks ending September 7, according to data from research firm Circana.

Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform