On the New York market, a ton of cocoa for delivery in December has risen by more than 25% since last Friday, to peak at 2,915 dollars.

Tensions between cocoa-producing countries and industrialists over the purchase price of beans have led to a surge in prices on the international market, even as demand is at half mast with the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the New York market, a tonne of cocoa for delivery in December, a contract which is therefore coming to an end soon, has risen by more than 25% since last Friday, to peak at 2,915 dollars, at a level more seen since the start of the pandemic.

This is not a cause for celebration for cocoa-producing countries, warn market observers: this jump in prices is on the contrary the consequence of the conflict which opposes them to their buyers, the chocolate industry.

“The dispute over prices prompted buyers to turn to other, cheaper sources, so they fell back on the New York market,” said Rabobank analyst Andrew Rawlings.

In West Africa, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, which represent two-thirds of world production, have joined forces since 2019 to try to obtain more from the chocolate industry, on the model for example of the Organization of Petroleum Producing Countries, OPEC.

Abidjan and Accra had obtained from their buyers, such as Nestlé, a premium of 400 dollars per ton of cocoa, applied from the 2020-21 campaign, which began in October.

But between the deal and the harvest, the COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged global demand, and processors are reluctant to see prices soar when supply is plentiful.

“There was a request to lower the premium, which was apparently denied. One of the confectionery giants has decided to turn to the reserves" specific to exchanges like ICE in New York, instead of buying directly from the producing countries as the big manufacturers usually do, explains Judith Ganes, commodity market analyst.

“It surprised the other market participants because the quantity was so large that they had to obtain an exemption from the operator,” she adds.

According to the Bloomberg agency, which cites anonymous sources who witnessed the transaction, the buyer is Hershey, one of the largest American confectioners.

Contacted by AFP, Hershey was not immediately available, as were the number one and number 2 in the world of chocolate, the American confectioner Mars and the Italian Ferrero.

"The result is that prices have jumped even as African producers still have some of the current crop to sell," said SaxoBank analyst Ole Hansen.

On the New York market, the contract for delivery in March, less directly affected, saw its price jump by nearly 16% to 2,740 dollars. In London, a ton of cocoa was traded on Friday for 1,829 pounds sterling, against an increase of 13.5% compared to last week.