Source: Oleoscope (Russia)
At the close of last year, Russia escalated its cocoa bean purchases from Ecuador to unprecedented levels, as revealed by an analysis from RIA Novosti based on statistics from the Ecuadorian statistical service. This surge occurred amidst rising prices and supply challenges from conventional cultivation regions.
Globally, cocoa bean prices experienced a 181% increase last year, while adverse weather and tree diseases posed threats to the new harvest. By December, prices surpassed $12,000 per tonne for the first time, although they have since adjusted downward by approximately one-third from that peak. Cocoa reserves in both London and New York are currently at historically low levels.
In this context, Russia’s imports of chocolate raw materials from Ecuador surged to 5.4 thousand tons, up from 1.8 thousand tons the previous year, marking a tripling in volume. Concurrently, the value of these imports soared six and a half times to reach $37 million. In both quantitative and monetary aspects, these imports set a new record for trade between the two nations.
Additionally, while Ecuador’s exports of chocolate products to Russia saw growth, it was less pronounced: in terms of physical volume, there was a 1.7-fold increase to 42.8 tons, and in monetary value, they nearly quadrupled to $493.3 thousand.