Just caught the cocoa price action today - May NY cocoa jumped +5.73% and London cocoa up +4.76%, posting their best levels in about a week. Pretty sharp move considering where we were earlier this quarter. The rally seems tied to concerns around the Iran situation and potential strait closures affecting shipping costs and export logistics. Worth watching how that plays out. The interesting part though is the supply story underneath. Earlier this year, the ICCO actually raised their global surplus estimate significantly, projecting around 75,000 MT excess for 2024/25 - first surplus in four years. Production's supposed to climb 8.4% year-over-year to 4.7 MMT, which had been weighing on cocoa prices pretty heavily. But demand's been the real pressure point. Barry Callebaut reported a 22% drop in cocoa division sales volume, and European cocoa grindings fell 8.3% last quarter - weakest Q4 in 12 years. Chocolate makers are seeing pushback on pricing. On the supply side, Ivory Coast and Ghana just cut farmer payments significantly, which could affect deliveries, and West African growing conditions are looking favorable for the mid-crop. So you've got this tension between structural oversupply and near-term geopolitical risk. Cocoa price volatility likely continues as these factors play out.

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