Cocoa loses the 26.5% of its price in 8 months

There are days when the ton of cocoa loses 120 dollars in the international market of commodities and others, 46 dollars, like Tuesday.

The swing in the stock markets of New York (USA) and London (England), which mark the prices of other countries, including Ecuador, has an explanation: The Ivory Coast and Ghana, which have had good but atypical productions. The former produces 1.7 million tons and the second 920,000 tons each year.

Cacao farmers say that Ecuador, with more than 537,410 hectares in production -2015- does to need not be alarmed. They say that this fall is temporary. They say that the demand rises a 2% every year. They say that the price will recover again in two months. They say it’s time to continue planting.

The fact is that producers used to receive $ 140 for each quintal at the beginning of the year, this month they have only received 83 dollars, and up to $ 80 in Manabi and Esmeraldas. A somewhat hard blow considering that this is the family income of a significant part of the rural population of Guayas, Los Ríos, El Oro, Manabí, and Esmeraldas.

In May the ton of cocoa stood at $ 3,098 in the international market, and yesterday, at the end of the trading day in New York, it stood at $ 2,279.