Cocoa Futures Ease

Cocoa futures fell toward $4,220 per tonne, pulling away from a 3.5-month high of $4,709 per tonne hit on May 11, pressured by forecasts of higher cocoa deliveries from the Ivory Coast.

The top grower now projects cocoa output of 2.2 MMT for the 2025/26 season, up from a previous projection of 1.8-1.9 MMT, citing favorable weather.

Still, the outlook remains clouded by concerns over fertilizer shortages and potential El Niño effects on West African crops.

Irregular rainfall in the Ivory Coast has once again raised alarm bells in the global cocoa market.

Farmers in the country's main producing regions reported growing concern about the possibility of a smaller, lower-quality mid-season crop, just as the harvest is entering its crucial phase.

In the meantime, early surveys of the 2026/27 West African cocoa crop showed below-average cherelle formation on cocoa trees, signaling a weak outlook for the main cocoa harvest, which begins in October.