Latest news with #cocoa
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Cocoa Demand Concerns Hammer Prices
September ICE NY cocoa (CCU25) Thursday closed down -317 (-3.78%), and September ICE London cocoa #7 (CAU25) closed down -248 (-4.57%) Cocoa prices on Thursday posted sharp losses due to concerns about cocoa demand. Chocolate maker Barry Callebaut AG reduced its sales volume guidance for a second time in three months on Thursday, citing persistent cocoa price volatility. The company projects a decline in full-year sales volume and said it "saw its largest decline in a decade in the third quarter." Coffee Prices Slip on Brazilian Real Weakness and Increased Supplies The Golden Rule of Grains: Why "Imaginary Fundamentals" Are Crushing Corn & Soybeans Will it Be a Watson Wednesday? Get exclusive insights with the FREE Barchart Brief newsletter. Subscribe now for quick, incisive midday market analysis you won't find anywhere else. Cocoa prices have sold off over the past month on signs of higher global cocoa production, with NY cocoa posting a 2.5-month low Monday and London cocoa posting an 8-month nearest-futures low. Last Tuesday, the Ghana Cocoa Board projected the 2025/26 Ghana cocoa crop would increase by +8.3% y/y to 650,000 from 600,000 MT in 2024/25. Ghana is the world's second-largest cocoa producer. A supportive factor for cocoa is the sign of a slowdown in Ivory Coast cocoa exports. Monday's government data showed that Ivory Coast farmers shipped 1.71 MMT of cocoa to ports this marketing year from October 1 to July 6, up +6.2% from last year but down from the much larger +35% increase seen in December. There are reports that heavy rain in the Ivory Coast is keeping cocoa growers off their farms and is disrupting the ongoing mid-crop cocoa harvest. In a bearish factor, ICE-monitored cocoa inventories held in US ports climbed to a 10-month high of 2,363,861 bags on June 18 and were modestly below that high at 2,319,150 bags as of Thursday. In a bearish report released on June 25, Nigerian May cocoa exports fell by -29% y/y to 14,110 MT. Nigeria is the world's fourth-largest exporter of cocoa. Cocoa prices have support from quality concerns regarding the Ivory Coast's mid-crop cocoa, which is currently being harvested through September. Cocoa processors are complaining about the quality of the crop and have rejected truckloads of Ivory Coast cocoa beans. Processors reported that about 5% to 6% of the mid-crop cocoa in each truckload is of poor quality, compared with 1% during the main crop. According to Rabobank, the poor quality of the Ivory Coast's mid-crop is partly attributed to late-arriving rain in the region, which limited crop growth. The mid-crop is the smaller of the two annual cocoa harvests, which typically starts in April. The average estimate for this year's Ivory Coast mid-crop is 400,000 MT, down -9% from last year's 440,000 MT. Concern about consumer demand for cocoa and cocoa products is bearish for cocoa, driven by fears that tariffs will exacerbate already high cocoa prices. On April 10, Barry Callebaut AG, one of the world's largest chocolate makers, reduced its annual sales guidance due to high cocoa prices and tariff uncertainty. Also, chocolate maker Hershey Co. recently reported that Q1 sales fell by 14% and said it anticipated $15-$20 million in tariff costs in Q2, which will boost chocolate prices and further weigh on consumer demand. Mondelez International reported weaker-than-expected Q1 sales, stating that consumers are cutting back on snack purchases due to economic uncertainty and high chocolate prices. Weaker demand from cocoa processors was seen in Q1. Q1 North American cocoa grindings fell -2.5% y/y to 110,278 MT. Q1 European cocoa grindings fell -3.7% y/y to 353,522 MT. Q1 Asian cocoa grinding fell -3.4% y/y to 213,898 MT. On May 30, the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) revised its 2023/24 global cocoa deficit to -494,000 MT from a February estimate of -441,000 MT, the largest deficit in over 60 years. ICCO said 2023/24 cocoa production fell -13.1% y/y to 4.380 MMT. ICCO said the 2023/24 global cocoa stocks/grindings ratio fell to a 46-year low of 27.0%. Looking ahead to 2024/25, ICCO on February 28 forecasted a global cocoa surplus of 142,000 MT for 2024/25, the first surplus in four years. ICCO also projected that 2024/25 global cocoa production will rise +7.8% y/y to 4.84 MMT. On the date of publication, Rich Asplund did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Corn See Marginal Gains Ahead of USDA Data Release
Corn price action was mixed on Thursday with most contracts steady to a couple cents higher and nearby, thin July down 5 ¼ cents. Traders were squaring up ahead of USDA's report on Friday. The front month CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price was unchanged at $3.85 1/4. USDA reported a private export sale of 110,000 MT of corn to unknown destinations this morning, all for new crop. US Tariffs on Brazil Boost Arabica Coffee Prices Arabica Coffee Prices Jump as Tariffs on Brazil May Disrupt Coffee Supplies Cocoa Demand Concerns Hammer Prices Markets move fast. Keep up by reading our FREE midday Barchart Brief newsletter for exclusive charts, analysis, and headlines. Export Sales data from the morning showed old crop corn coming in above 375,000 and 900,000 MT estimates at 1.262 MMT the week ending on July 7/3. That was an 8-week high for sales and more than double the same week last year and the week prior. Mexico was the largest buyer at 469,900 MT, with 436,200 MT sold to Japan. New crop also exceeded the trade range of 150,000 to 700,000 MT estimate for that week at 888,562 MT. That was down from the week prior but still the second largest so far this year. The top buyer was Mexico at 423,900 MT, with Japan in for 304,800 MT. CONAB estimates the Brazilian corn crop at 131.97 MMT via their monthly release, up 3.72 MMT from last month on a 3.54 MMT increase to the second crop corn. Ahead of the USDA report on Friday, a survey of traders by Bloomberg shows estimated production out of Brazil at 132.3 MMT. Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.07 1/4, down 5 1/4 cents, Nearby Cash was $3.85 1/4, down 0 cent, Sep 25 Corn closed at $3.99 1/4, unch, Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.16 1/2, up 1 cent, New Crop Cash was $3.75 1/8, up 1/2 cent, On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
France 24
2 days ago
- Business
- France 24
Barry Callebaut cuts outlook as chocolate sales volumes melt away
With cocoa bean prices up 43 percent year-on-year, the company said it suffered a 9.3 percent fall in sales volume in the April to June quarter, compared to the same period last year. The drop was 6.2 percent for chocolate, worse than the overall 4.2 percent fall in the global market, which it said was the largest quarterly drop in sales volumes in a decade. Zurich Cantonal Bank analyst Daniel Burki said the quarterly drop in sales volume "was worse than feared". The company's share price was down nearly 13 percent in late afternoon trading. Barry Callebaut, whose financial year runs through the end of September, said its nine-month sales volumes were down 6.3 percent, which was worse than the 5.1 percent drop expected by analysts surveyed by Swiss financial news agency AWP. While sales volumes have dropped, sales revenue has swelled as Barry Callebaut passes on rising cocoa prices to customers. Its nine-month sales revenue jumped 49.5 percent to 10.9 billion Swiss francs ($13.7 billion), outpacing the rise in cocoa prices. But the company reduced its financial guidance to investors, saying it now expects a high-single-digit increase in annual operating profit from recurring operations, down from its previous forecast of a double-digit gain.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Barry Callebaut cuts forecasts again as prices, tariffs deter customers
By Paolo Laudani and Maria Rugamer (Reuters) -Barry Callebaut cut its volume guidance for the third time this year on Thursday as high cocoa prices and uncertainty related to U.S. tariffs prompted customers to buy less of its product. The world's top chocolatier, which supplies chocolate for Unilever's soon-to-be-spun-off Magnum ice creams and Nestle's KitKat bars, expects its sales volume to fall by 7% in the year ending on August 31. It had previously said it expected the volume to fall by a mid-single-digit percentage due to volatile cocoa bean prices. Its shares were down 15% as of 0929 GMT, at the bottom of Europe's benchmark STOXX 600 index, with analysts flagging concerns that the trading update could hurt the investment case. Barry Callebaut's BC Next Level investment programme and cost-savings strategy launched in 2023 are also slow to show results. It said the deleveraging actions would take around 12 to 18 months to have a full impact. "Today's result is unlikely to reassure investors on both the current environment and Barry's ability to complete BC Next Level successfully," Vontobel analyst Matteo Lindauer said. London cocoa futures fell to an eight-month low on Monday on expectations of a rise in production in South America, but industry sources told Reuters that production in the key West African cocoa producing region could see another 10% drop. Barry Callebaut also lowered its operating earnings target, saying they would rise by a mid to high single-digit percentage in constant currency this year. In April, it had guided for a double-digit rise. CUSTOMERS NAVIGATE TARIFF STORM Although the company's presence in the U.S. allows it to weather most tariff uncertainties, it felt a significant impact from growing customer concerns in the quarter, CEO Peter Feld said in a call with analysts. "When you think about our customer base, we're not just having the big fast-moving consumer goods companies, but we have more than 1,200 mid-sized family-owned businesses that obviously are vastly worried about the announcements," Feld said. One in four chocolate and cocoa products consumed worldwide is made with Barry Callebaut ingredients. Sales volume fell 9.5% year-on-year in the third quarter, even as revenue continued to rise as it passed on raw material costs to customers. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Barry Callebaut lowers annual targets again due to cocoa bean prices
July 10 (Reuters) - Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut (BARN.S), opens new tab cut its volume guidance for the third time this year on Thursday due to what it described as unprecedented market conditions in the cocoa bean market, as it reported nine-month results in line with market expectations. The world's biggest chocolatier, which supplies key food producers such as KitKat maker Nestle (NESN.S), opens new tab, expects its sales volume to fall by 7% in the year ending on August 31. It had previously said it expected the cocoa sales volume to fall by a mid-single-digit percentage due to volatility in cocoa bean prices that trade in London at around 5,455 pounds per metric ton . Its shares were down 2.8% at 0618 GMT in premarket, with analysts flagging concerns that the management's low visibility and another profit warning could hurt the investment case and fail to reassure investors on the difficult environment. The low visibility "could also raise question about the company's management information system", analyst Matteo Lindauer from Vontobel said. Despite London cocoa futures falling to an eight-month low on Monday on expectations of a rise in production in South America, industry sources told Reuters that the key West African cocoa producing region was likely to see a 10% decline in the upcoming 2025/26 season. Barry Callebaut also lowered its operating earnings target, saying they would rise by a mid to high single-digit percentage in constant currency this year. In April, it had guided for a double-digit rise. Its sales volume was 1.6 million tonnes in the nine months to the end of May, meeting analysts' average forecast in a company-provided poll, even as they fell 9.5% year-on-year in the third quarter of the financial year. Despite this, revenue increased by a half during the nine-month period, as the chocolatier passed on raw material costs to its customers. (This story has been corrected to say the company has cut its guidance three, not two, times this year, in paragraph 1)
