Day: June 29, 2023

Cocoa prices surged to the highest in 46 years on the Intercontinental Exchange in London as bad weather in West Africa threatened production prospects for the main suppliers of the primary raw material used to make chocolate.

The benchmark September contract for cocoa in London gained more than 2% to 2,590 pounds per metric ton. The session high was the highest price since 1977 at 2,594 pounds.

Cocoa prices continue to see strength from El Nino concerns and the recent heavy rain in West Africa that damaged crops and slowed down the mid-crop harvest and truck shipments in the Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast farmers shipped 29,910 tons of cocoa to ports for June 19-25, up +16% y/y.

On Monday, the Ivory Coast government reported that farmers sent a cumulative 2.22 MMT of cocoa to Ivory Coast ports for the 2022/23 marketing year (October 1 through June 18), down -2.2% y/y. The Ivory Coast is the largest cocoa producer in the world.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Denmark agreed to allocate 143 billion kroner ($21 billion) to its armed forces over the next 10 years.

With the new budget, Denmark will in 2030 reach a NATO requirement on spending 2% of gross domestic product on its defense.

The government reached the deal with most of the opposition parities in parliament, the government said in a statement.

While a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Denmark has for decades spent less on military than its allies, allocating about 1.3% of GDP.

The parties behind the new defense pact will decide later this year on the details of the plan, including plans to instate compulsory military service for women.

Source: Qatar News Agency