The Denver Post reports that candy makers are facing higher costs due cacao prices soaring to a 20-year high. Climbing sugar prices aren’t helping either:
The cost of making sweets is on the rise, leaving a sour taste for local candy makers. Sugar prices have soared 95 percent this year as global demand is forecast to exceed supplies.
At the same time, cocoa beans have been selling near a 20-year high on reports of diminished production in Ivory Coast, the world’s largest grower. That’s taking a bite out of confectioners’ profits.
“Sugar prices are the highest I’ve ever seen,” said Andrew Schuman, president of Hammond’s Candies in north Denver. “They’ve been consistently rising over the course of the past year.”
Sugar constitutes about 12 percent to 14 percent of Hammond’s total production costs.
Click here to view the entire article.
Archive for the ‘Production’ Category
Climbing Chocolate Prices Impose Candy Crunch
Thursday, September 24th, 2009Cocoa Prices High in London
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009The price of cocoa has soared in London. Due to speculation that production in the Ivory Coast will decline but demand for chocolate will increase as the global economy improves, London prices have reached their highest in two decades. Read more from Bloomberg.com:
Ivory Coast’s output will drop 12 percent to 1.2 million metric tons this year, the lowest level in 10 seasons, the International Cocoa Organization said last month. According to Gilbert Anoh N’Guessan, head of the nation’s cocoa industry group, production next season may fall to less than 1 million tons. Global supply in the year ending this month will trail demand for a third year, the ICCO estimates.
Cocoa grindings, a gauge of demand, are likely to increase by 1.5 percent to 2 percent next year, Jan Vingerhoets, executive director of the London-based ICCO, said Sept. 16.
Click here to read the entire report.
Hot Chocolate Officially Recognized in Guatemalan Heritage
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009News of Guatemala’s official recognition of its cultural tradition with hot chocolate circulated throughout the web last month. Here’s the story published by the AFP:
Hot chocolate can warm the hands and soothe the soul, and in Guatemala the beverage is so beloved that is has received a special designation as part of the country’s cultural heritage.
In an effort to recognize the historical importance of hot chocolate and protect the labor-intensive traditional preparation of the beverage, Guatemala has designated the drink a “national patrimony.”
The Culture Ministry issued the decree “to promote centuries-old customs” and throw a spotlight on the complicated and mostly manual process used to make the drink, which has been winning raves for as long as anyone can remember.
“Chocolate is really a symbol of the Mixco region, we have been making it the same way for more than 500 years and the Spanish colonizers always said this was the world’s best chocolate,” said Osberto Gomez, with Mixco’s culture office. (more…)
Consumers Pick Cadbury Chocolate Over Gum
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
Forbes.com reports that consumers are managing the global economic crisis by “staying at home and seeking comfort from a sugar rush.” The online news source reports in its “Going Cocoa for Cadbury” that Cadbury’s sales of chocolate goods jumped during the second quarter:
Consumers are hungry for the sweet stuff, but at the expense of chewing gum.
LONDON — It used to be all about the gum–now it’s all about the cocoa. Cadbury said Wednesday that its candy bars had led the charge in the second quarter, with chocolate sales hitting double-digit growth, while its chewing-gum brands eked out a 2% sales increase. It’s not hard to work out why, with hard-pressed consumers in Britain–Cadbury’s biggest single market–staying at home and seeking comfort from a sugar rush.
As for chewing gum, which not so long ago benefited from its image as a healthier alternative to Cadbury’s Flake and Dairy Milk bars, it’s not growing as fast. Bank Vontobel analyst Claudia Lenz said consumers were not traveling as much, making them less prone to impulse purchases of gum at the supermarket counter. “A lot of people who have to save money, because it’s a short-term indulgence, would maybe rather go for a chocolate tablet which they can enjoy with the family,” said Lenz.
But there could be a downside to the dominance of chocolate for Cadbury ( CBY – news – people ). Lenz said that a smaller showing for gum in the product mix might hurt recurring sales growth, because chocolate was comparatively less of a money-spinner. There could be other hurdles in the second half of 2009 as well: Lenz added that Cadbury would not be able to raise product prices as much as before, because input costs were decreasing.
Click here to view the entire article.
“Vulcano” Chocolate Doesn’t Melt
Saturday, July 18th, 2009
The world’s leading producer of chocolate, Barry Callebaut, is claiming to revolutionize chocolate with its new low-calorie chocolate that doesn’t melt. The following is from abcnews.com:
Chocolate is just as much a part of Switzerland as the Alps. Now, global market leader Barry Callebaut has developed the product that competitors have been hopelessly puzzling over for 60 years — chocolate that doesn’t melt and is low in calories…
One Swiss chocolate manufacturer thinks it has a solution that could make these problems a thing of the past. Barry Callebaut, whose annual output of over 1.1 million tons of cocoa and chocolate products makes it the world’s largest producer of chocolate, has developed a type of chocolate with completely new properties. According to the company’s head developer, Hans Vriens, the chocolate has up to 90 percent fewer calories than regular chocolate.
What’s more, high temperatures can’t touch it — unless, by chance, they soar higher than 55 degrees Celsius (131 degrees Fahrenheit). Depending on its composition, traditional chocolate starts to melt at around 30 degrees Celsius. And that’s the inspiration behind the tentative name its developers have given the new product: “Vulcano.”
Click here to read the entire article.
Get a chocolate recipe from abcnews.com here.
Sale of Fairtrade Chocolate Sees Steady Rise in UK
Saturday, July 18th, 2009
Data from the Fairtrade Foundation suggests that the market for fairtrade products is a sustainable one in the UK. Cocoa, specifically, jumped from £1 million in 1998 to £26.8 in 2008, spiking in 2006 at £29.7.
More established industries such as bananas and coffee brought in six times as much with £184.6 and £137.3 respectively.
Click here to see the entire data table.
Fairtrade Cacao in Africa
Friday, July 17th, 2009
The Fairtrade Foundation offers a case study on cacao in Ghana.
“Fairtrade is a good thing. Things you take for granted may be hard to come by in Ghana. Fairtrade is good to the farmer and makes us happy. We would like to sell more cocoa to Fairtrade so more farmers can taste a better life.
“We have taken our destiny into our own hands. Through Fairtrade and Kuapa we now have a lot of progress. We have good drinking water, toilet facilities and schools. Kuapa pay the farmers on time and there is no cheating when the cocoa is weighted. We meet every two weeks to share our problems. We are able to generate extra income through our soap making and palm oil making schemes that help us through the lean months. Kuapa Credit Union gives us loans and enables us all to benefit. We can take a loan out as an individual or as a group.
“Kuapa have assisted women, they ensure that women have a voice and that we are heard. I have learnt a lot from Kuapa. I grew up in cocoa and I see many differences between Kuapa and the other buying companies”
Comfort Kwaasibea, cocoa farmer
Click here to view the entire case study.
Cacao in Southern Belize
Friday, July 17th, 2009
The Fairtrade Foundation offers a case study on a cacao farmer in Southern Belize:
For more than 10 years Justino Peck has played an important role in his local community, frequently taking up issues and leading others in the fight to secure their rights. When, 10 years ago, he and fellow farmers were in crisis after the collapse of the price of cacao, he emerged as a powerful and charismatic leader. His huge personal commitment has secured a better future for himself, his family and the community.
Justino Peck is the chairman of the Toledo Cacao Growers’ Association, the organisation that represents the interests of smallholder farmers in the Toledo region of Southern Belize…
Justino is well aware of the economic importance of growing Fairtrade cacao: ‘Some farmers think corn is more important because when there is high demand the price is 30 Belize cents a pound but now it’s 15 cents and soon it will be 10 cents a pound. During harvest time everyone has corn to sell and the price soon tumbles. With Fairtrade there is a guaranteed price of 1.35 Belize Dollars (42 pence) and we can sell as much as we can grow.
‘The difference Fairtrade cacao makes for me is that come January, right through to July, I know I will have a market. I know that I will be able to sell my cacao. By having that assurance I can make plans. If I want to buy books for the children’s studies or we want to take a trip we can plan for that.’
Click here to view the entire case study at FairTrade.org.uk.
Cocoa from Child Slaves
Friday, July 17th, 2009
Change.org is urging people to petition major chocolate producers to stop purchasing cocao that is produced inhumanely:
Right now, thousands of young children are held in slavery in Western Africa, harvesting the cocoa that is used to produce chocolate for many of the worlds largest candy companies. These children are beaten, raped, forced to work with untreated wounds, and denied access to schooling and medical care. They are not allowed to leave and are threatened daily with violence. They are child slaves producing what should be a delicious and simple joy of childhood: chocolate.
The best way to free these children and end child slavery in the chocolate industry is for major chocolate companies like Hershey to buy Fair Trade Certified cocoa. Other large chocolate companies like Cadbury and Mars have recently made the decision to end child slavery in Africa; it’s time for Hershey to do the same. As customers of Hershey products, we must ask them to stand with us against child slavery.
For more infomation about the campaign to ask Hershey to end child slavery in cocoa farming, please visit the International Labor Rights Forum.
This petition ends on Sep 20.
Click here to view the petition on Change.org.