Weather conditions will become more favorable, which will lead to an increase in world production of cocoa beans by about 10%, causing their supply to exceed demand for the first time in four seasons, US media reported.

However, the spread of chocolate tree diseases will hardly allow a return to previous prices. According to analysts at Fitch Solutions, quoted in the publication, the price of cocoa futures could fall from $11,000 to $7,000 per tonne, while their average price over the past decade has been less than $2,000.

Other factors that will keep prices at a relatively high level, as the agency notes, are the policies of the authorities of countries – exporters of cocoa, preventing foreign investment in its production. Such countries are primarily Ghana  and the Cote d’Ivoire .

As for other major players in the cocoa market, Cameroon and Nigeria , which benefited from the recent price increase, also expect production growth, while hoping for a continuation of the current price trend.

Last year, the shortage of cocoa beans on the world market led to a sharp rise in cocoa bean prices, which peaked in the second half of April at a record almost $12,000 per tonne.