{"id":595846,"date":"2019-03-02T15:04:58","date_gmt":"2019-03-02T15:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"
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A global cocoa surplus is expected in the 2018\/19 season, Informa\u2019s Agribusiness intelligence has said, with record production driven by favourable weather in West Africa.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Global cocoa production was seen hitting a record high of 4.85 million tonnes, leading to a surplus of 71,000 tonnes for the October\/September season, it said in a report.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The projected surplus was slightly higher than the median forecast of 30,000 tonnes in a Reuters poll earlier this month. The ICCO\u2019s most recent estimate for the 2017\/2018 season was a small surplus of 22,000 tonnes.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMassive cocoa production is almost certain this year and as a result we may expect a very volatile market in 2019 as higher-than-expected production pressures cocoa prices,\u201d Agribusiness intelligence analyst Sergey Chetvertakov said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Top producer Ivory Coast was projected to have a crop of 2.12 million tonnes, up from the prior season\u2019s 1.96 million with number two Ghana predicted to produce 950,000 tonnes, up by 47,000 tonnes.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The report also noted that Europe and North America face saturated local markets and the growth rate of grinding was slowing down compared to the two previous seasons.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n