Markets

Cocoa prices tumble 19%, giving up a chunk of their record-setting gains

Key Points
  • Cocoa prices last traded at around $7,175, after dropping about $1,700 per metric ton.
  • Earlier in the year, cocoa futures hit a record of $11,722 per metric ton.
  • Cocoa prices soared this year amid a shortage of cocoa beans.

In this article

A farmers holds cocoa beans while he is drying them at a village in Sinfra, Ivory Coast, on April 29, 2023.
Luc Gnago | Reuters

Cocoa prices dropped more than 19% on Monday, giving up a large part of the strong gains that lifted them to all-time highs earlier this year.

Prices last traded at around $7,175, after dropping about $1,700 per metric ton. It would be the biggest one-day drop for the commodity since at least 1980.

Earlier in the year, cocoa futures hit a record of $11,722 per metric ton.

Cocoa prices soared this year amid a shortage of cocoa beans due to supply disruptions, including heavy rains and disease. The surge also heightened fears of steeper prices at the grocery store for consumers.

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Cocoa YTD

Despite Monday's steep decline, cocoa is up nearly 70% year to date and 137% over the past 12 months.

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