Cocoa Futures Hover Near 1-Year High
2026-09-01 15:29
By
Luisa Carvalho
1 min. read
Cocoa futures traded around $6,600 per tonne, holding close to their highest since September 2025, amid mounting concerns over West African supply.
The current 2025/26 crop is facing quality concerns in top producers Ivory Coast and Ghana, where cloudy weather and limited sunshine have favored the spread of black pod disease, while a prolonged dry spell followed by floods and strong winds has damaged young cocoa pods and swept away some trees.
The outlook for the next season is more uncertain due to excessive wetness, disease and limited access to chemicals, with risks potentially compounded by an unusually strong El Niño.
Production forecasts for major growers have been lowered, with Ivory Coast’s output expected to fall by about 20% to 1.75 million tonnes and Ghana’s to decline 13% to 650,000 tonnes next season.
Elsewhere, farmers in Cameroon are struggling with shortages of chemicals to control pests and diseases, while floods have disrupted cocoa farming in Nigeria.