COPAL COCOA Info. 383.doc · Web viewDorea expected global cocoa demand in 2010 will sit anywhere from up or down 1 percent, if measured by grind data. Barry Callebaut (BARN.S), the

INSIDE THIS ISSE:

ICCO DAILY COCOA PRICES LONDON (LIFFE) FUTURES

MARKET UPDATE NEW YORK (ICE) FUTURES

MARKET UPDATE FROM THE NEWS MEDIA TIT BITS

COPAL COCOACOPAL COCOA InfoInfo A Weekly Newsletter of Cocoa Producers' Alliance

Health and Nutrition Chocolate maker gives haggis the sweet treatment Sweet road to health Chocolate facts pleasure without the guilt Dark cocoa 'can aid liver patients' Chocolate gastronomy

Production and Quality Nigerian cocoa exports rise 8.3 pct in Jan –agency

The Market Cocoa Falls as Grinding Gains Come Up Short;

Coffee Declines Cocoa slips despite jump in European demand Cocoa advances for a Second Day as demand

exceeds expectations

Processing & Manufacturing

Business & Economy Exporters Blame Tax for Mountain of Cocoa

Beans Decadent “Taste of Chocolate” Kabler's Chatter: A wonderland of chocolate Nine arrested as smuggling hits Ghana cocoa

output Agriculture minister promises to evaluate

cocoa export tax Export tax expected to help cacao processing

industry

Labour Issues

Environmental Issue

Do your health a favour, drink Cocoa everyday

‘It’s nature’s miracle food’UP-COMING EVENTSUP-COMING EVENTS IN THISIN THIS

Issue No. 383 12th – 16th April 2010

PREVIEW-Q1 cocoa grind to rise after prices tumbled

German Q1 2010 Cocoa Grind Rises 10.31% on Year

Cocoa Steady, Digests Q1 European Grind Data Analyst sees 2011 recovery as European cocoa

grindings rise UPDATE 1-North American Q1 2010 cocoa grind

up 16.17 pct

Research & Development .

Promotion & Consumption Stakeholders pledge support for local cocoa

consumption

Others Help get rid of swollen shoot disease

In the News (from Newspapers worldwide)

ICCO Daily Cocoa PricesICCO daily price

(SDR/tonne)ICCO daily price

($US/tonne)London futures

(£/tonne)New York futures

($US/tonne)

12th April 2046.16 3120.85 2155.67 2932.00

13th April 2015.58 3076.12 2127.00 2886.33

14th April 2026.96 3092.86 2119.33 2907.33

15th April 2031.01 3094.74 2117.33 2917.67

16th April 2074.90 3163.00 2169.67 2991.00

Average 2039.00 3110.00 2138.00 2927.00

COCOA PRODUCERS’ ALLIANCE, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COMPLEX TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE, P.O. BOX 1718, LAGOS, NIGERIA. TEL: +234(0)1-263-5574 FAX: +234(0)1-263-5684

Email: [email protected] Website: www.copal-cpa.org2

mailto:[email protected]

International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE)London Futures Market – Summary of Trading Activities

(£ per tone)

Monday 12th April 2010 Month Opening Trans Settle Change Daily High Daily Low Volume

May 2010 2134 2152 21 2165 2125 3,274Jul 2010 2152 2171 20 2184 2145 2,806Sep 2010 2124 2144 20 2159S 2120 1,185Dec 2010 2094 2121 22 2134 2093 682Mar 2011 2098 2088 16 2098 2085 447May 2011 2074 2082 16 2090 2074 13Jul 2011 2081 17 0Sep 2011 2072 10 0Dec 2011 2070 10 26Mar 2012 2077 10 0

Average/Totals 2106 8,433

Tuesday 13th April 2010 Month Opening Trans Settle Change High Low Volume

May 2010 2149 2121 -31 2153 2100 3,793Jul 2010 2167 2141 -30 2173 2120 6,254Sep 2010 2144 2119 -25 2144 2100 2,458Dec 2010 2114 2097 -24 2116 2079 955Mar 2011 2071 2067 -21 2075S 2056 657May 2011 2080 2065 -17 2080 2060 97Jul 2011 2062 2065 -16 2062S 2061S 19Sep 2011 2063 -9 0Dec 2011 2061 -9 0Mar 2012 2056 -21 0


Wednesday 14th April 2010 Month Opening Trans Settle Change High Low Volume

May 2010 2125 2116 -5 2132 2107 2,194Jul 2010 2142 2135 -6 2152 2126 3,271Sep 2010 2123 2107 -12 2130S 2102 881Dec 2010 2100 2080 -17 2105 2079 403Mar 2011 2074 2055 -12 2074 2057S 422May 2011 2060 2050 -15 2060 2050 52Jul 2011 2050 -15 0Sep 2011 2050 -13 0Dec 2011 2048 -13 0Mar 2012 2043 -13 0


Thursday 15th April 2010 Month Opening Trans Settle Change High Low Volume

May 2010 2118 2125 9 2127S 2106 3,482



http://www.nybot.com/reports/dmrs/etsDMRs/dmrFutures.asp?dmrMonth=04&dmrDay=11&dmrYear=2007&commodityID=1&commodityType=future







Jul 2010 2136 2145 10 2148 2125 3,701Sep 2010 2102 2116 9 2120 2099 858Dec 2010 2083 2091 11 2093 2073 668Mar 2011 2045 2058 3 2058S 2045S 26May 2011 2050 2050 0 2050 2040 43Jul 2011 2050 0 0Sep 2011 2050 0 0Dec 2011 2048 0 0Mar 2012 2043 0 0


Friday 16th April 2010 Month Opening Trans Settle Change High Low Volume

May 2010 2142 2180 55 2181 2130 2,912Jul 2010 2172 2200 55 2200 2150 4,698

Sep 2010 2135 2170 54 2170 2123S 1,304Dec 2010 2105 2139 48 2140S 2099S 566

Mar 2011 2071 2099 41 2100 2071 409May 2011 2077 2095 45 2097 2075 50

Jul 2011 2096 46 0Sep 2011 2096 46 0

Dec 2011 2094 46 0Mar 2012 2089 46 0


Average for the week 2126 9721 48,606

New York Board of Trade(New York Futures Market – Summary of Trading Activities)

(US$ per tone)

Monday 12th April 2010 Month Open Price Change High Low Volume









May 2010 2870 2919 63 2933 2851 9,654Jul 2010 2877 2930 53 2943 2867 10,270Sep 2010 2908 2956 52 2967 2901 1,562Dec 2010 2945 2978 46 2990 2928 882Mar 2011 2956 2998 48 3009 2955 280May 2011 2964 3003 46 3007 2961 212Jul 2011 2996 3015 48 3010 2996 173Sep 2011 3001 3018 44 3014 3001 133Dec 2011 3020 3034 45 3025 3018 213Mar 2012 0 3061 45 0 0 0

Average/Totals 2999 23379

Tuesday 13th April 2010 Month Open Price Change High Low Volume

May 2010 2920 2868 -51 2926 2817 9,899Jul 2010 2929 2881 -49 2941 2835 13,366Sep 2010 2956 2905 -51 2956 2862 1,387Dec 2010 2965 2931 -47 2965 2890 763Mar 2011 2907 2954 -44 2967 2907 90May 2011 0 2961 -42 0 0 0Jul 2011 0 2970 -45 0 0 0Sep 2011 0 2974 -44 0 0 3Dec 2011 0 2995 -39 0 0 83Mar 2012 0 3022 -39 0 0 0


Wednesday 14th April 2010 Month Open Price Change High Low Volume

May 2010 2872 2890 22 2902 2866 5,993Jul 2010 2881 2898 17 2909 2875 9,821Sep 2010 2913 2918 13 2932 2900 2,543Dec 2010 2940 2926 -5 2954 2908 1,821Mar 2011 2965 2945 -9 2976 2951 199May 2011 0 2953 -8 0 0 2Jul 2011 0 2964 -6 0 0 0Sep 2011 0 2969 -5 0 0 0Dec 2011 3000 2990 -5 3000 3000 10Mar 2012 0 3030 8 0 0 0


Thursday 15th April 2010 Month Open Price Change High Low Volume

May 2010 2891 2876 -14 2900 2836 3,539Jul 2010 2898 2890 -8 2905 2842 7,634Sep 2010 2925 2914 -4 2929 2870 2,043Dec 2010 2916 2941 15 2950 2886 1,346Mar 2011 2918 2973 28 2981 2918 731May 2011 2996 2985 32 2996 2980 245Jul 2011 0 2986 22 0 0 36Sep 2011 0 2988 19 0 0 48Dec 2011 2977 2996 6 3005 2977 177










Mar 2012 0 3025 -5 0 0 1Average/Totals 2957 15800

Friday 16th April 2010 Month Open Price Change High Low Volume

May 2010 2888 2965 89 2968 2887 2,841Jul 2010 2920 2988 98 2994 2902 13,002Sep 2010 2935 3004 90 3008 2930 1,904Dec 2010 2956 3014 73 3020 2951 1,508Mar 2011 2983 3030 57 3034 2983 788May 2011 2998 3033 48 3028 2995 290Jul 2011 3031 3041 55 3042 3030 21Sep 2011 3033 3044 56 3034 3033 14Dec 2011 3015 3056 60 3060 3005 301Mar 2012 3040 3083 58 3077 3040 133


Average for the week 3026 3782 3782

News

Health and Nutrition

Chocolate maker gives haggis the sweet treatment The GuardianBy Amelia Hill11 April 2010 An Edinburgh-based chocolate maker has given Scotland's national dish a cocoa-tinged makeover. Robert Burns' thoughts not available



NEWS

Health and Nutrition









…Haggis has been deep fried, smothered in whisky cream and rolled in oats but now the great chieftain o' the puddin' race has undergone the final indignity: it has been made into chocolate.Whether Robert Burns's Rustic, who set the earth "trembling" with his "haggis-fed tred", would have had the same seismic force had his dinner been rolled into delicate, truffle-shaped balls can only be surmised. But Nadia Ellingham, an artisan chocolate maker from Edinburgh, is prepared to bet that, had the poet tasted her variation on Scotland's national dish, he would have raised a toast in its honour.

Haggis in the window of Crombie's butcher, Broughton Street, Edinburgh.

"Most people screw their faces up or look a bit horrified when I tell them I make haggis chocolates, but once I explain how I make them they understand that it does actually make sense," said Ellingham, founder of the Thinking Chocolate firm.

Ellingham created the chocolates for a Burns' Night supper but her guests were so complimentary that she has started selling them commercially.

Perhaps judging that chocolate lovers would be less than keen to see their favourite ingredient blended with the traditional sheep's liver, heart, lung and suet, Ellingham does not use offal in the truffles. Instead, she recreates the flavour of haggis by combining nutmeg, mace, black pepper and oatmeal. "I scoured around lots of haggis recipes to find a lot of the common ingredients," she said. "I filtered it down and came up with the ingredients that come up most often, eliminated the offal aspect of the dish, did some recipe development and it went from there."

Joe McGirr, of the Scottish Malt Whisky Society, which has arranged a number of tastings involving Ellingham's chocolates, – others include sundried tomato and basil, cranberry and chestnut, and thyme and orange truffles – said: "The haggis chocolate was amazing. You're expecting it to be awful but then you put it in your mouth and you get all these fantastic spice flavours that make up a haggis."

Sweet road to health The Age By GEOFF MASLENApril 12, 2010

COULD this be a chocaholic's dream come true? Research suggests that eating dark chocolate has the potential to reduce the risk factors leading to heart disease.

A pilot study undertaken by Indu Singh with a small group of volunteers found that eating chocolate did have an antioxidant effect by decreasing the adverse effect of free radicals in their blood.

A medical scientist at RMIT University, Dr Singh has been studying some of the risk factors that cause heart disease by

testing natural dietary supplements rich in antioxidants. She says the results indicate that antioxidant supplements play an important role in maintaining normal blood platelet function, exerting a positive effect on blood lipid profile and improving glucose uptake in healthy people.

Platelets are tiny cells in the blood that help stop bleeding. The blood lipid profile is a group of tests often used to determine the risk of heart disease and typically includes measuring cholesterol levels. "Antioxidants in foods such as the cocoa in chocolate, or olive leaf extract and vitamin E as gamma-tocopherol, have the potential to combat oxidative stress-induced risks leading to cardiovascular diseases," Dr Singh says.She explains that as we breathe in oxygen, the oxidation that occurs in the cells of the body generates energy but also produces free radicals. These molecules can damage the cells and their DNA, but are usually "mopped up"




by the body's own antioxidants before they can cause harm. Because of stress, or eating fatty foods, not exercising or living in a polluted atmosphere, or even just getting older, the body's antioxidant process becomes more inefficient and free radicals start causing "oxidative damage".

This has been implicated in several age-associated illnesses, from heart disease and cancer to Alzheimer's.

In the first clinical study with cocoa (dark chocolate is rich in cocoa), Dr Singh found a beneficial effect on the platelets in the blood of the volunteers. But she says chocolate has other unwelcome substances, including sugar, cream and additives. "Such food is too rich and not so healthy. So we wondered what it was in chocolate that gave it its antioxidant properties and we conducted tests with pure cocoa instead," she says.

In a second clinical trial, the researchers recruited volunteers who regularly exercised as well as others who were mostly sedentary. They were split into two groups, one of which took capsules of cocoa and the other swallowed a placebo — a capsule with a non-active substance.

Dr Singh says that when a largely sedentary person occasionally wants to do strenuous exercise, the body produces more free radicals, not fewer. That means regular exercise is better than only exercising in sudden or irregular bursts.

The experiment required the volunteers to ride an exercise bicycle for up to an hour with the rate at which they pedalled being set "according to their level of competence". They were fitted with a mask to measure their oxygen intake and carbon dioxide exhalation, and connected to a timer and another device to record the pulse and heart rate.

Before the experiment began, blood samples were taken and the test subjects given capsules containing cocoa or the placebo and told to take them daily for three weeks. They then returned to do the bicycle test, had another blood sample taken, then rode their bikes and at the end had more of their blood taken.

Dr Singh says the volunteers who regularly exercised did not show a big difference between the proportion of free radicals in their blood before and after the bike ride because it was not high to start with.

Although some improvement was evident after taking the cocoa capsules, the most significant difference occurred with the sedentary group, where the proportion of free radicals declined sharply after taking the cocoa capsules. "We then wanted to see whether it was something else causing the effect than just the cocoa," Dr Singh says. "So we looked at other antioxidants that might be useful in countering oxidative stress and preventing or reducing the incidence of cardiovascular disease."

The researchers knew from other research that olives had strong antioxidant properties. But not many people would want to swallow olive oil because of its fat content — besides, it was an expensive option and the quality of the oil varies markedly from one product to another. "We knew that an extract of olive leaves has equally strong if not greater antioxidant properties than olives or olive oil; it is also less expensive to produce and there is no increase in fat consumption," Dr Singh says. "As well, olive leaves can be harvested all year round, whereas the olive fruits are a seasonal crop, and this can lead to less availability of oils produced compared to leaf extract, so we went on to look at the effects of the extract."

The experiment using olive leaf extract was undertaken with another group of volunteers but using the same testing regime. The results were similar to those with cocoa, just as they were with a third series of experiments using vitamin E capsules.

Dr Singh says she was particularly interested in antioxidants that occur in a normal diet. So she ran the vitamin E experiment with gamma-tocopherol, the most common form of vitamin E found in a normal diet.

Vitamin E exists in different forms called alpha-, gamma- and delta-tocopherol. That sold in supermarkets or pharmacies, however, is usually alpha-tocopherol and this is not found as much in the food we eat as gamma-tocopherol, which occurs in foods such as nuts and some oils. "That means people who obtained sufficient gamma-tocopherol in their diets would not need to buy special supplements such as the alpha-tocopherol sold as vitamin E in food stores," Dr Singh says.

The experiment was again undertaken with two groups of volunteers taking gamma-tocopherol or a placebo and being subject to the same testing regime. Again, the effect on the proportions of free radicals in the sedentary group was greater than those who exercised regularly. "Healthy eating and regular exercise could help you lower your risk of developing heart disease," Dr Singh says. "That is, if the diet includes good amounts of olive




oil, nuts and green leafy vegetables — and some high-quality dark chocolate. "But more research is needed to identify how antioxidants actually work and what their impact would be on people who are already suffering from cardiovascular disease.

Chocolate facts pleasure without the guilt Trinidad News -Source: Harvard Medical SchoolApril 14 2010IT’S AN old story, very old, in fact. Forbidden fruits taste the best. The apple in Eden may have started it all, but there are many modern equivalents, ranging from juicy burgers and crispy fries to salty snacks and fine cigars. But science and experience can also move things from column A to column B. Far from being a guilty pleasure, alcohol, for example, can actually promote health if the dose is right (low) and the drinker is responsible. The same is true for nuts. On the other side of the coin, many people who think of exercise as a painful duty actually can come to experience it as pleasurable.

What about chocolate? Does it deserve its bad rap, or is it the latest thing in health foods? As for many complex questions, the answer is both, since the consequences of eating chocolate depend largely on the type of chocolate and the amount you consume.

It all begins with the cacao tree, which originated in Central America more than 4,000 years ago and has been cultivated by humans for more than 1,000 years. The Aztecs and the Mayans were fond of the tree, believing that the seeds were a divine gift from paradise. Both groups used the cacao in religion and commerce; as currency, 100 beans had the value of one slave.

Chocolate was among the earliest American exports. Cortéz brought cacao beans to Spain in the early 16th century. The Spaniards added sugar and cinnamon to the bitter Indian drink, and the rest is history. The cacao tree is now grown in equatorial regions of Africa and Asia as well as in the Americas, which still produce some of the world's cacao beans.

Chocolate doesn’t grow on trees, but cacao beans do. After harvesting, the beans are dried for several days and then roasted. Next, the beans are opened, the shells are discarded, and the nibs are ground and separated into cocoa butter and cocoa powder. The powder is low in fat and is used for baking or to make hot chocolate, while the cocoa butter is the heart of the chocolate we eat.

The flavonoids have many properties that might improve health. To see if they really work, researchers have studied foods ranging from apples to onions, and from tea to wine. And it’s no surprise that chocolate has attracted the interest of scientists from around the world, giving the research an international flavour. Most studies concentrate on aspects of cardiovascular health; here are some representative findings:

Antioxidant activity: Antioxi-dants protect many of the body’s tissues from damage by oxygen free radicals. Among other beneficial actions, flavonoids protect LDL cholesterol from oxidation, which puts the “bad” into “bad cholesterol.” Here are two examples. Scientists from Italy and Scotland fed dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate and whole milk to healthy volunteers. Dark chocolate boosted the volunteers’ blood antioxidant activity, but milk, either in the chocolate or a glass, prevented the effect. Similarly, researchers in Finland and Japan found that dark chocolate reduces LDL oxidation while actually increasing levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol, but white chocolate lacks both benefits.

Endothelial function: The endothelium is the thin inner layer of arteries. It’s responsible for producing nitric oxide, a tiny chemical that widens blood vessels and keeps their linings smooth. Can chocolate help? Doctors in Greece think it may.

They fed 100 grammes (about 3½ oz) of dark chocolate to 17 healthy volunteers and observed rapid improvement in endothelial function. Swiss investigators found similar effects from dark chocolate but no benefit from white chocolate. German scientists reported that flavanol-rich cocoa can reverse the endothelial dysfunction produced by smoking, and European doctors reported that dark chocolate appears to improve coronary artery function in heart transplant patients. There’s good news for nonsmoking, original-heart men, too, since Harvard researchers found that cocoa can blunt the endothelial dysfunction associated with ageing.

Blood pressure: Because good endothelial function widens blood vessels, it’s logical that chocolate might help lower blood pressure. Studies from Italy, Argentina, Germany, and the United States shows that dark chocolate can lower blood pressure in healthy adults and in patients with hypertension. A 2007 meta-analysis of five trials that included 173 subjects found that the effect is modest, however, lowering systolic pressure (the higher




number recorded, when the heart is pumping blood) and diastolic blood pressure (the lower number, recorded while the heart is resting between beats) by just under five millimetres of mercury (mm Hg). The benefit wears off within a few days of stopping “treatment” with a daily “dose” of dark chocolate. And another reality check comes from a six-week 2008 study of 101 healthy adults that did not find any benefit for blood pressure.

Insulin sensitivity: Chocolate is a food that diabetics love to hate, and the sugar and calories give them good reason to eschew it. But an Italian study of nondiabetics suggested that dark, but not white, chocolate can improve insulin sensitivity. However, a small 2008 investigation of flavanol-enriched cocoa in diabetics found no improvement in blood sugar control or blood pressure.Blood clotting: Most heart attacks and many strokes are caused by blood clots that form on cholesterol-laden plaques in critical arteries. These clots are triggered by platelets; the antiplatelet activity of aspirin explains its important role in patients with coronary artery disease. Researchers in Switzerland and the US found that dark chocolate reduces platelet activation.

International experiments show that dark chocolate has an impressive array of activities: It is an antioxidant that may improve your cholesterol; it improves endothelial function and may lower your blood pressure; it is a sweet that may lower your blood sugar; and its antiplatelet activities could reduce your chances of developing an artery-blocking clot. Taken together, these properties could reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. But all of these hopeful results are based on short-term experiments in a small number of volunteers. Do these bits and pieces of data apply to real life?

Two large Harvard studies reported opposite results, but neither focussed on dark chocolate itself. The Harvard Alumni Study, which was limited to men, found that sweets seem to strengthen survival; during a five-year observation period, men who ate candy once or twice a week enjoyed a 27 percent lower mortality rate than candy abstainers. But even if candy is dandy, the study did not distinguish chocolate from other confections, so it's not possible to ascribe benefit to any particular type of sweet. In contrast, the Nurses' Health Study of women found no link between chocolate consumption and coronary artery disease — but since the study did not distinguish between dark chocolate and other varieties, it could have missed a significant benefit.

The most robust support for chocolate as an asset to health comes from a 2006 report from the widely respected Zutphen Elderly Study. Researchers evaluated 470 Dutch men between the ages of 65 and 84; all were free of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer when the study began in 1985. Each volunteer provided comprehensive dietary information, and each underwent a detailed evaluation of his blood pressure, cholesterol, body fat, and other cardiovascular risk factors.

Researchers tracked the men for 15 years. They found that the men who ate the most cocoa-containing products had lower blood pressures than those who ate the least; the average difference was 3.7 mm Hg in systolic pressure and 2.1 mm Hg in diastolic. Those differences may not seen substantial—but even after taking other risk factors into account, the chocolate lovers also enjoyed a 47 percent lower mortality rate; most of the benefit was explained by a sharply decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. And the largest single source of cocoa was dark chocolate.

To the ancient Mayans, chocolate was the food of the gods. Many modern Americans agree — but others fear death by chocolate, assuming that anything tasting so good must be bad for you. Is chocolate a divine food or a devilish temptation?

If you're a chocolate lover, choose dark chocolate; the first listed ingredient should be cocoa or chocolate liquor, not sugar. Limit yourself to a few ounces a day, and cut calories elsewhere to keep your weight in line. And don't rely on chocolate to make up for a bad diet or insufficient exercise. But if you make dark chocolate part of a healthy lifestyle, you can have the pleasure without the guilt.

Dark cocoa 'can aid liver patients' The Press AssociationApril 15, 2010A dose of dark chocolate can help people with liver damage, scientists have learned.

Potent plant chemicals in cocoa reduce potentially dangerous high blood pressure in liver patients, a study has shown. The effect was seen in a group of patients with serious cirrhosis of the liver.

Those fed the equivalent of less than half an average-sized chocolate bar experienced a significant reduction in raised liver blood pressure.




After eating, blood flow and pressure in the liver normally increases. But this can be dangerous for patients with cirrhosis - scarring of the liver - since they already suffer from elevated liver blood pressure, or portal hypertension. In some cases the increase in blood pressure can cause blood vessels in the liver to rupture.

The new study led by Dr Andrea De Gottardi, from the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Spain, involved 21 cirrhotic patients with end-stage liver disease.

Ten were randomly assigned a standard liquid meal including dark chocolate containing 85% cocoa. They received 0.55 grams of chocolate per kilogram of body weight - a total of 38 grams for someone weighing 70 kilograms, or 11 stone. An average-sized chocolate bar weighs about 100 grams.

Eleven patients received a similar liquid meal containing white chocolate. Both meals caused an increase in liver blood flow, but the accompanying increase in high blood pressure was less than half that of patients given the dark chocolate. Their hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) - a measure of blood pressure in the liver - rose by 10.3 millimetres of mercury compared with 26.3 for patients given white chocolate.

Chocolate gastronomy Malaysia StarApril 17, 2010

Surely there can’t be many people who can resist chocolate, right? If you are the rare few who are indifferent to its charm, perhaps it’s time to weed out cheap, uninspiring chocolates from your shopping list.

Real chocolate is rich, smooth and creamy, and bound to make one purr with pleasure. Cheap, industrial chocolate, on the other hand, contains additives that make it super sweet, waxy and grainy.

Need more convincing?Chocolate is reportedly good for your heart — thanks to its antioxidants. It also makes you happy because it contains endorphins,

and it can help lift the blues because it has serotonin. But this only applies if you’re eating dark chocolate.

Apparently, milk and white chocolates are low in antioxidants, and the high degree of processing leaves them with few health benefits.

We got one of France’s top pastry master chefs, Jean-François Arnaud, to help us navigate the complex world of bonbons, pralines, ganaches and chocolate bars. According to him, the main types of chocolates out there are dark, milk and white.

Dark chocolate is made from cocoa paste, cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla and traces of soya lecithin (commonly used as an emulsifier). Good quality dark chocolate usually contains between 50% and 85% cocoa. You can find 99% pure chocolate too, but that’s mostly for hardcore chocolate lovers.

If a dark chocolate contains 70% cocoa, then its sugar content is about 30%. The chocolate will have an intense flavour, with just enough sugar to make it palatable. Milk chocolate uses the same ingredients as dark chocolate but with the addition of milk powder, while white chocolate does away with cocoa paste.

If you’re not familiar with the brand, read the ingredient table.

“Chocolate should be made out of cocoa butter not vegetable fats. Vegetable fat is a short-cut in terms of quality and price,” said Arnaud over the e-mail.

Pastry chefs, chocolatiers and chocolate connoisseurs usually talk about “couverture” or compound chocolates. Couverture chocolate, a professional-grade chocolate, is made from high quality beans ground to fine particles and has a higher cocoa butter content (between 28% and 39%) than regular chocolate bars. They are ideal for making truffles, confectionery and pastries.

The percentage of cocoa content (cocoa butter and cocoa paste/mass) is usually stated on the packaging, and varies between less than 50% and 99%. To cut costs, manufacturers tend to use vegetable or tropical fats in place of cocoa butter, not to mention tons of sugar, synthetic flavours and stabilisers. With cheap chocolates,




you get that “sticky” feel — a greasy and waxy quality that has an awful aftertaste. “If the chocolate is loaded with sugar, it’ll hide the aroma and taste,” Arnaud said.

Chocolate appreciation

“The best chocolate melts quickly in the mouth, has a velvety texture and leaves a long, pleasant aftertaste,” explained Arnaud who was in Kuala Lumpur in February to conduct a chocolate workshop at the French Culinary School.

The low melting point of cocoa butter is what contributes to the “melt-in-the-mouth” feel.

“Some of the best cocoa beans come from South America,” Arnaud pointed out.Coating bonbons or dipping truffles in smooth-textured couverture is an art. If you simply melt the chocolate, then you will get chocolate that is dull and has blotchy patches. Chocolatiers use a tedious process called tempering in which chocolate is repeatedly heated and cooled. This makes it glossy and “snap” cleanly instead of crumbling when broken up.

Another process that produces fine texture and smoothens out the acidic tones of chocolate is conching (the grinding of chocolate against a hard surface using rollers).

Chocolate processed in Europe and the United States are among the best today due to the technology and the manufacturing process, Arnaud opined. But of course, the overall taste of chocolate depends on the selection of the beans, their origins, how the beans are roasted, blending (the mixing together of different beans), as well as the sugar balance. As with fine wine, chocolates are today offered in single estate and vintage varieties by top producers like France’s Valrhona.

So how does one acquire a taste for fine chocolate?

According to UK’s Academy of Chocolate, fine chocolate should only contain cocoa butter (vegetable fat a no-no), a minimum cocoa content of 60% (dark chocolate) or 30% (milk chocolate) and no artificial additives like vanillin (vanilla extract), flavourings, colourings or preservatives. In the European Union, even partly artificial flavourings are not acceptable.

“The best way to discern quality chocolate is to test a lot of different chocolates from various parts of the world,” Arnaud suggested. “Of course, everybody’s preference is different. Some people like the sweetness and some like the bitterness. The best chocolate is, again, what you like.”

And the best pairings for chocolates?

You can blend it with caramel and spices, or they are great for fruit ganaches like raspberry, lemon and orange, Arnaud said. Or do as the ancient Mayans and Aztecs did — infuse a cocoa drink with spices.

A great tip from Arnaud: In Malaysia’s hot, humid climate, the best way to store chocolate is to keep it in the chiller but take it out 30 minutes before you bite into the tasty morsel. Ah, yes, time to get the chocolate out.

■ Chef Jean-François Arnaud will be conducting a chocolate workshop in Kuala Lumpur in July. Visit www.htcinasia.com for details.

The Market

Nigerian cocoa exports rise 8.3 pct in Jan –agency Reuters South Africa By Tume AhembaApr 16, 2010

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria's cocoa exports rose 8.3 percent to 32,591 tonnes in January from the same month of the previous season, official data showed on Friday, as growers and buyers enjoyed robust local and international market prices.



Production & Quality


The increase in exports from the world's number 4 cocoa grower in January was consistent with the trend since the start of the 2009/10 season in October.

Nigeria's cocoa exports have climbed to 121,852 tonnes in the four months to January, up 45.5 percent on the same period of the 2008/09 season, data from the Federal Produce Inspection Service (FPIS) showed.

Dealers say the big rise in shipments since October was a sign Nigerian cocoa exports, which fell 1.8 percent to 164,230 tonnes in the 2008/09 season according to FPIS data, were on the path of recovery. They said the rise in Nigerian cocoa shipments was helped partly by strong local and international market prices since the start of the October-March main crop. "Cocoa prices have really been good this season, especially in December and January," Abang Neji Abang, secretary general of the Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN) told Reuters.

The four months to January are traditionally the peak period for Nigerian cocoa production.

ROBUST PRICES

"Farmers and merchants who usually hoard their beans during this period had no choice but to offload their stock into the market to take advantage of the robust prices," Abang said by telephone from the south-eastern port city of Calabar, Nigeria's second cocoa export route after Lagos.

Industry officials say Nigeria's cocoa exports could be much higher than the official figures because some exporters do not fully declare their shipments at the ports.A sizeable volume of beans is also smuggled across Nigeria's borders by exporters trying to take advantage of lower port charges in neighbouring countries, industry sources added.

Farmers and buyers have forecast a far bigger main crop this season compared to the last harvest because of good weather in the main growing regions and the maturity of new plantations.

Nigeria produces around 300,000-350,000 tonnes of cocoa a year, according to the CAN, but government officials put the figure higher, at about 400,000-450,000 tonnes. Some cocoa is processed locally. Nigeria has been keen since 2005 to raise its annual output to over 600,000 tonnes to rival Ghana, the world number two grower but a cocoa revival programme launched five years ago has had little success.

Nigeria's cocoa production peaked at around 400,000 tonnes a year in the 1970s, but government began to neglect the sector with the advent of oil. The industry's decline accelerated after it was deregulated in 1986.

Cocoa Falls as Grinding Gains Come Up Short; Coffee Declines BusinessWeekBy Yi TianApril 13, 2010 (Bloomberg) -- Cocoa dropped to the lowest price in more than two weeks as a report on rising use in Europe fell short of the level needed to push futures higher. Coffee sank.

Cocoa-bean grindings rose 8.1 percent to almost 340,900 metric tons in the three months through March from a year earlier, the European Cocoa Association said today. That was the biggest first-quarter gain in four years. The indicator of demand fell from about 351,300 tons in the fourth quarter, the Brussels-based industry group said. “We would see more of a rally if it were a double-digit increase,” said Kona Haque, a Macquarie Bank Ltd. analyst in London. “What we see now is in line with expectations.”

Cocoa for July delivery fell $49, or 1.7 percent, to $2,881 a ton on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Earlier, the most-active contract touched $2,835, the lowest level since March 26. The price of the chocolate ingredient “depends on the Ivory Coast,” the world’s largest producer, Haque said. “Expectations are for a good mid crop,” which is harvested between April and September in the West African country, she said.

Ivory Coast growers collect a bigger main crop from October to March.



The Market


Cocoa has climbed 12 percent in the past year.

Also on ICE, arabica-coffee futures for July delivery dropped 1.45 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $1.3385 a pound. The most-active contract is up 14 percent in the past 12 months.

Cocoa slips despite jump in European demand Agrimoney.com13th April 2010Cocoa prices fell on Tuesday to within in ace of setting a fresh 2010 low, despite data showing the strongest growth in demand for the chocolate ingredient in four years.

Europe's cocoa grind hit nearly 381,000 tonnes in the first three months of 2010, the European Cocoa Association said, after a survey of groups including Archer Daniels Midland, Barry Callebaut and Cadbury.

The rise of 8.1% compared with the first quarter of 2009 represented the strongest growth since the January-to-March period in 2006.

Growth was particularly strong in Germany, which accounts for more than one-quarter of Europe's total grind, and where cocoa use jumped 10.3% in the latest period, boosted in part by an increase in capacity.Bear points Nonetheless, cocoa closed lower on both sides of the Atlantic, touching £2,100 a tonne in London at one point, within £5 a tonne of overhauling an early-March nadir. New York cocoa for May was down more than 3% at its day low.

The declines reflected in part expectations of a strong rise in grindings, reflecting the region's economic recovery. "The grinding figures published this morning are expected to have been well and truly priced into the market," Stephanie Garner, at Sucden Financial, said.

Analysts at Commerzbank forecast the grind may have been boosted by one-off rebuilding of inventories by companies who let stocks run down during the uncertainty of the global economic crisis. "During the second half of 2009, after the collapse in demand in the first half, a gradual restocking process had started, which is now about to level off," Commerzbank said. "Supply prospects of cocoa are relatively positive," the bank added, noting the potential for a global production surplus in 2010-11 after a number of deficits in recent seasons.

'Sell stops unearthed'

Furthermore, technical effects had an impact on prices on Tuesday, as fund sales triggered some automatic sell orders, deepening the decline. "There has been some liquidation by funds, which unearthed some sell stops," Ms Garner told Agrimoney.com.

The levels of fund selling were not unusual, she added. "At this time of wheat, when there is not so much physical supply around, the importance of fund moves is heightened in terms of causing volatility."

Cocoa advances for a Second Day as demand exceeds expectations San Francisco ChronicleApril 16, 2010(Bloomberg) -- Cocoa rose for a second day in London on stronger-than-expected North American demand for the chocolate ingredient.

First-quarter cocoa use in the region climbed 16 percent to 116,122 metric tons, the Washington-based National Confectioners Association said yesterday. European cocoa grindings, an indicator of demand, jumped 8.1 percent in the first quarter, the most in four years, figures from the European Cocoa Association showed on April 13.

"The number was substantially higher than expected," Eric Sivry, head of cocoa brokerage at Fortis Bank Nederland in London, said of the North American data. "We have to wait for Asian, Brazilian, and West African first-quarter grind data to have a complete picture."

Cocoa for May delivery advanced 11 pounds, or 0.5 percent, to 2,136 pounds ($3,299) a ton on the Liffe exchange at 12:33 p.m. local time. Prices are up 0.2 percent for the week. Cocoa for July delivery rose 1 percent to $2,920 a ton on ICE Futures U.S. in New York.




The increase in Europe "reflects the impact of recovering demand coming on the back of broader economic recovery and in the wake of aggressive de-stocking through the recession," Barclays Capital said in a report e-mailed today.

White, or refined, sugar for August delivery rose $6.90, or 1.4 percent, to $503.50 a ton on Liffe.

Traders delivered 968 50-ton lots of white sugar for expiration of the May futures contract, about two-fifths of the 2,342 lots delivered for the March contract. The decline may indicate reduced availability of the sweetener.White sugar will gain next week, according to five of 10 traders, analysts and brokers surveyed by Bloomberg. Two said prices will fall and three expected no change. Seven of 10 respondents said raw sugar will rise, two predicted a drop, and one said prices will be little changed.

Robusta coffee for May delivery advanced $4, or 0.3 percent, to $1,352 a ton.

PREVIEW-Q1 cocoa grind to rise after prices tumbled ReutersBy Marcy Nicholson and Nigel HuntApr 12, 2010

* European Q1 grind seen up 5-10 percent

* North American Q1 grind pegged 3-12 pct higher

* 2010 cocoa demand expected to improve slightly

NEW YORK/LONDON, April 12 (Reuters) - North American and European chocolate makers are expected to have processed more cocoa in the first quarter than a year ago, after prices fell from their highest levels in more than 30 years and manufacturers continued to replenish stocks.

The European 2010 first-quarter grind data, a key measure of demand, was due for release on Tuesday, with North American data to follow on Thursday. "I think (cocoa processing) margins have improved a little bit because cocoa bean prices have fallen so much. It was just too prohibitively expensive for the processors when it was at $3,000 plus," said Kona Haque, commodity strategist with Macquarie Bank in London.

Analysts contacted by Reuters, estimated the European grind will be up 5-10 percent from a year ago, when grindings dropped 11.1 percent to 315,177 tonnes as global economic troubles hit chocolate demand.

North American grindings for the first quarter of this year were pegged to climb anywhere from 3-12 percent from the year-ago figure, when grindings tumbled to 99,875 tonnes, a 12.97 percent fall from the first-quarter 2008.

U.S. cocoa futures CCc1 hit the highest level in nearly 31 years at $3,510 per tonne in December, and then fell 22 percent during the first quarter.

The second-position cocoa contract LCCc2 on Liffe hit a 32-year peak at 2,356 pounds in January, and then dropped 10 percent.

Any improvement comes in part from the comparison to dismal data in first-quarter 2009, when demand was hit by the global economic crisis. Some chocolate manufacturers decreased their chocolate bar size rather than raising prices, and consumers bought less high-quality chocolate, lowering cocoa consumption.

"Generally better economic ideas and some restocking continues," said Sterling Smith, analyst for Country Hedging Inc in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Grinders let their inventories fall during the economic downturn but restocking in the last half of 2009 distorted recent data as a demand indicator.



Processing & Manufacturing


"Q2 (through) Q4 will improve, as long as we avoid any big scares to the economy, but I don't think we reach record levels again until second-quarter 2011," Smith said.

"I see restocking as about three-quarters of the way finished and should be (in) order by the end of the third quarter."

Marcelo Dorea, partner of hedge fund Round Earth Capital in New York, however, expected grindings will increase marginally in the second quarter of this year before falling in the third quarter, in part due to marginal restocking and the approaching seasonal slow period following Valentine's Day and Easter.

"It (the outlook for cocoa demand) is clouded by this uncertain picture in the background economy but I would think we are in a bit of a recovery mode," said VM Group analyst Gary Mead."If countries are going to have to tighten their belts ... that translates into people facing job losses and that is not good if you are selling motor cars or chocolate bars."

Dorea expected global cocoa demand in 2010 will sit anywhere from up or down 1 percent, if measured by grind data.

Barry Callebaut (BARN.S), the world's largest chocolate maker, expects the global chocolate market to recover slowly in the coming months after it shrank during the economic downturn. [ID:nLDE62U1GI] (Editing by Bob Burgdorfer and Alden Bentley)

German Q1 2010 Cocoa Grind Rises 10.31% on Year Source: Reuters13/04/2010 Germany's cocoa grind saw its third consecutive year-on-year quarterly gain in the first three months of 2010, increasing by 10.31 percent, the association of German confectionery producers BDSI said on Tuesday. The BDSI said the first quarter cocoa grind reached 88,688 tonnes, marking a 10.31 percent rise on the year. Grindings in the fourth quarter of 2009 increased by 9.4 percent on the year.

Traders had expected a rise in the first quarter grinding figures following the start of widespread economic recovery and falling cocoa prices, but noted German grindings fell in the first quarter of 2009 by a dramatic 21.3 percent on the year. The trend in Germany mirrored that in Europe.

European cocoa grindings in the first quarter of 2010 rose 8.1 percent on the year, the European Cocoa Association also said on Tuesday.

Cocoa Steady, Digests Q1 European Grind Data Source: Reuters13/04/2010 ICE cocoa futures were steady on Tuesday as the market took stock of an 8.1 percent increase in Europe's cocoa grind, in line with expectations, while sugar rose on fund and investor buying amid reports of cash enquiries. Cocoa dealers monitored a public transport strike in top producer Ivory Coast to gauge whether it might disrupt supplies.

Cocoa dealers said the 8.1 percent increase in the European Q1 quarterly grind data, which was in line with analysts' expectations, had no market impact. "We had been expecting a grind 7-9 percent higher, so at 8.1 it was in the middle of expectations," said Eric Sivry, director and head of cocoa brokerage at Fortis Bank Nederland.

He also referred to profit-taking after Monday's advance.

July cocoa on ICE fell $12 or 0.4 percent to $2,918 a tonne at 1118 GMT.

July cocoa on Liffe fell 10 pounds or 0.46 percent to 2,161 pounds a tonne.

Raw sugar futures on ICE rose on investor and fund buying, continuing to consolidate amid reports of physical enquiries, but the outlook was still looking uncertain after eight straight weeks of falls.

"We had four days of consolidation," said veteran sugar futures dealer David Sadler.




"It was on the cards that we would have a technical correction (upwards)."

Sugar dealers are focused on steady harvest progress in the key centre-south growing region of top producer Brazil.

After pushing to a 29-year peak at 30.40 cents a lb on Feb. 1, sugar has lost nearly half of its value.

Some dealers see key psychological support in benchmark ICE futures at 15.00 cents a lb.

ICE May raw sugar was up 0.27 cent or 1.6 percent at 16.81 cents a lb.

London May white sugar was up $3.50 or 0.7 percent at $526.70 per tonne.

A European broker said in a daily market report that Sudan had granted import licences and was looking to buy white sugar.

CONTRACT EXPIRY

In London, the May white sugar contract expires on Thursday and still has an open position of more than 14,000 lots (700,000 tonnes).

Sadler said he expected a sugar delivery of around 100,000-150,000 tonnes, with origins that could include Brazil and Guatemala, and Thailand.

Dealers said some Central American sugar that had originally been expected to be available to deliver against the contract had instead been exported to Mexico.

ICE coffee futures inched down, with the 2010/11 coffee crop from top producer Brazil starting to trickle into ports, putting some fundamental pressure on futures.

ICE May arabica coffee was up 0.45 cent or 0.3 percent at $1.3400 per lb.

Liffe May robusta coffee was up $14.00 or 1 percent to $1,402 per tonne.

Analyst sees 2011 recovery as European cocoa grindings rise ConfectioneryNews.com -By Jane Byrne , 14-Apr-2010European cocoa grindings in the first quarter of 2010 rose 8.1 per cent on the year, the biggest first-quarter gain in four years, according to data from the European Cocoa Association (ECA) but an industry insider claims a double-digit hike would have lent recovery hopes more weight.

The ECA groups the major companies involved in the cocoa bean trade and processing, in warehousing and related logistical activities in Europe, with its members representing two-thirds of Europe’s cocoa beans grinding, half of Europe's industrial chocolate production and 40 per cent of global cocoa liquor, butter and powder output.

And, reflecting the overall European trend, the association of German confectionery producers, BDSI, revealed yesterday that Germany's cocoa grind in the first three months of 2010 reached 88,688 tonnes, which marked a 10.31 per cent rise on the year.

Cocoa grinding data is an indicator of demand and this increase in the figures for the first quarter of 2010 was expected by industry analysts following sharp declines in cocoa prices in recent weeks, subsequent to their reaching a 33-year high in December 2009 in London due to a poor main crop in West Africa and heavy speculative buying.

But one market analyst, who did not want to be identified, told ConfectioneryNews.com that a 10 per cent increase on the year in Europe wide grindings would have been a more constructive marker that recovery for the global chocolate market in 2010 was ensured.

He said though that predictions now were for a much lower deficit in cocoa supply for 2009/2010 than the originally touted 200,000 tonnage, with a good cocoa crop expected based on yields emerging as a result of the




recent high prices filtering down to the growers coupled with good weather conditions. “Some analysts are even expecting a surplus,” said the Netherlands-based trader.

The 2010 European figures contrast sharply with cocoa grinding data for the first-quarter of 2009, when demand was hit by the global recession. A percentage of chocolate producers then decreased their chocolate bar size rather than pass on prices to consumers, and cocoa consumption also decreased as a result of consumers purchasing less high-quality chocolate.According to the industry analyst, cocoa processors are far less cautious now and recent months have seen a hike in cocoa liquor, butter and powder purchases as a result. And he expects festive purchasing at Halloween and Christmas to help significantly with 2010 earnings for chocolate manufactures. However, the confectionery sector insider claims that it will be 2011 before a real recovery will kick in for the industry.

Meanwhile, according to Reuters, truckers involved in transporting the Ivory Coast's cocoa supplies today joined a strike against fuel price hikes. Cocoa markets are sensitive to signs of disruption. However, a three-day strike by a union of cocoa cooperatives last October did not have a great impact on supplies from the top cocoa producer.

UPDATE 1-North American Q1 2010 cocoa grind up 16.17 pct Reuters By Marcy NicholsonApr 15, 2010NEW YORK, April 15 (Reuters) - North American cocoa grindings in the first quarter of 2010 rose 16.17 percent from 2009, above expectations and marking the first increase since 2008, data from the National Confectioners Association (NCA) showed on Thursday.

The results were above the wide range of estimates that pegged the grind would rise 3 to 12 percent.

In the first quarter of 2009, North American grindings were pegged at 99,962 tonnes the report showed, revised from the previously reported 99,875 tonnes.

This rise follows a streak of four consecutive declining quarters in 2009, when the NCA expanded the report to include Canada and Mexico, in what was previously a United States report. This was also when the report eliminated cocoa liquor and butter melted data.

Cocoa grinding is used as a measure of demand for the key chocolate ingredient.

There were 11 companies that responded to the survey, including chocolate makers Barry Callebaut USA (BARN.S), Hershey Co (HSY.N), Nestle Chocolate & Confections (NESN.VX), ADM Cocoa (ADM.N) and Mars Chocolate North America.

The data follows Europe's cocoa grind that rose 8.1 percent year-on-year to 340,863 tonnes in the first quarter, the Brussels-based European Cocoa Association said on Tuesday. [ID:nLDE63B1HH]

Also earlier this week, Germany's cocoa grind saw its third consecutive year-on-year quarterly gain in the first three months of 2010, increasing by 10.31 percent, the association of German confectionery producers BDSI said.

Exporters Blame Tax for Mountain of Cocoa Beans Jakarta Globe By Arti EkawatiApril 11, 2010The new export tax on unprocessed cocoa beans is resulting in exporters stockpiling beans and postponing shipping them overseas, the Indonesian Cocoa Association claims. “We now have two difficult choices, either to keep shipping the beans and pay the export tax, or postpone shipping during April,” Zulhefi Sikumbang, general secretary of the association, also known as Askindo, told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday.



Business & Economy


Zulhefi said exporters would likely postpone shipping this month or sell on the domestic market to avoid the tax. He said there were about 70,000 tons of cocoa beans stockpiled nationwide, more than twice the 30,000 tons the country typically exports in one month.

Last month, the government imposed an export tax of up to 15 percent on unprocessed cocoa beans to encourage the development of domestic processing industries. The tax fluctuates on a monthly basis and is calculated based on the average futures price for cocoa in the US market.

In March, the average futures price was $2,900 per metric ton, meaning a 10 percent tax will be imposed this month on the export base price, set by the government, of $2,603 per ton. Exporters will therefore pay an export tax of $260.30 per ton in April. “If we export 70,000 tons of cocoa beans this month we will have to pay about $18.2 million in tax,” Zulhefi said.

He said exporters paid cocoa farmers about Rp 23,000 ($2.55) per kilogram in February and March. Since the tax was announced they have reduced their price to Rp 19,000 a kilogram for May delivery but were unable to pass on the price to farmers for April-delivery export consignments, Zulhefi said.

Askindo has said the tax might result in an annual Rp 1.5 trillion loss of income for cocoa farmers.

Agriculture Minister Suswono said that because the tax only applied to unprocessed dried beans, farmers should start fermenting their beans so they could command higher prices.

Decadent “Taste of Chocolate” Tucson Citizen - By Carolyn Classen Apr.11, 2010, “Oh my gosh” was my response entering the Rincon Rotary’s 2nd annual “Taste of Chocolate” event today at the Doubletree Hotel, 455 N. Alvernon. Beautifully decorated tables serving chocolate samples of all kinds were awaiting the entrants, probably 500-600 people in total over a two hour period. Tickets cost $10/adult, children under 12 were free with paid adult. There were lots of children present happily enjoying the chocolate samples.

Each entrant was asked to choose the best of four categories: Chocolate Artisan, Mousse Crossing, Cocoa Loco, and Hometown Hits. I tried to sample all the different chocolate cookies, fudges, truffles, candies, tiramisu, dipped strawberries, etc.and it was lots of fun judging so many delicious wonders and delicacies. There was even a chocolate mole taco and a chocolate based mixed fruit compote.

I’ll let you know toward the end of this article who won in these categories (based on celebrity judges’ decisions), but here’s a list of the restaurant/catering participants:

Chocolate Artisan: Anne Gartner, Bergie Harzheim, Creative Catering, Gentle Ben’s, Pastiche, Pizzeria Vivace, Sunflower

Mousse Crossing: Creative Catering, Doubletree Hotel, Eclectic Cafe, Hacienda del Lago, Pastiche, Melting Pot, Tucson Country Clubchocolate truffles

Cocoa Loco: Cafe 54, Creative Catering, Culinary Design, Luna Bella, Pastiche, Sweet Rustler Treats

Hometown Hits: Creative Catering, Doubletree Hotel, El Parador, Lutz Swiss Bakery, Mini’s, Quail Canyon Golf, Rocco’s Little Chicago, Sweet Rustler’s Treats, Zink’s Treats

This event featured raffle prizes including chocolate cakes, gifts certificates to restaurants, caterers, florists. A silent auction was also held.

Celebrity judges were Jenny Anchondo, anchor of KOLD TV Channel 13, District 4 Supervisor Ray Carroll, Judy Rich, COO of Tucson Medical Center, Jerry Simmons of Simmons Automotive. Based on their judging in the first hour, the winners of each category were: And the People’s Choices for each category were: Chocolate Artisan: Pizzeria Vivace (tiramisu), Mousse Crossing: Melting Pot (chocolate fondue), Cocoa Loco: Culinary Design Catering (chicken Mole), and Hometown Hits: Lutz Swiss Bakery (chocolate macaroons). Congratulations to all the winners.




The proceeds from this Taste of Chocolate benefit the Rincon District 5500 Rotary’s scholarship program and Polio Plus (their goal is to eradicate polio in the world). For more info contact: [email protected] or click on their website link.

If you missed this decadent event today, be sure to watch for the 3rd annual Taste of Chocolate next Spring. I had never seen so much delicious chocolate in one room before.

Kabler's Chatter: A wonderland of chocolate Ledger Independent By JANE CLINE KABLER, Food Writer, April 11, 2010

April 17-18 historic Washington will be hosting the 23rd annual Chocolate Festival and everything will be all about chocolate.

Saturday the festival will open at 10 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. On Sunday, April 18, the hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

During the weekend the flagstone pathways will remind you of Simon Kenton, Daniel Boone and Harriet Beecher Stowe and their passing through this area. Of course Albert Sidney Johnston was once a resident of the town. The town will be filled with a variety of chocolate delights to sample, along with a great selection of

chocolate goodies to take home. There will be other food vendors, cloggers performing, gospel music, a cruise-in and Elvis will be there to celebrate his 75th birthday. Some of the great chocolate treats for sale will be Devil's Food Cake, peanut butter rolls, frozen cheesecake dipped in chocolate on a stick, pecan-chocolate pie, fudge, bananas dipped in chocolate, and an assortment of chocolate cookies.

Visitors will be able to step back in time while visiting the Harriett Beecher Stowe Slavery-Freedom Museum, Albert Sidney Johnston Homeplace, Mefford's Station, Simon Kenton's Shrine, Cane Brake, Paxton House, the Old Church Museum and the Presbyterian Church.

Shops along the streets will be open and displaying and selling, candy, baskets, brass, copper, art prints, pottery, antique dishes, antique jewelry, crafts, primitives, furniture, lamps, candles, and antique tableware. Many door prizes will be given at each location by the merchants.

Today we are all about using a variety of chocolate recipes. I have also added a few facts about chocolate that are worth knowing.

A few facts about chocolate

Chocolate is produced from the seed of the cacao tree; cacao has been cultivated for at least 2000 years in Mexico, Central and South America; cocoa mass was originally used as a beverage and as an ingredient in food; the seeds have a bitter taste and must be fermented to develop the flavor; chocolate is one of the most popular food types and flavors in the world; the world's top producer of cacao beans is Africa; after fermentation the beans are dried, cleaned and roasted and the shell is removed to produce cacao nibs; unsweetened baking chocolate (bitter chocolate) is made up of cocoa solids and cocoa butter; much chocolate consumed today is in the form of sweet chocolate, combining cocoa solids, cocoa butter or other fat, and sugar; milk chocolate is sweet chocolate that contains milk powder or condensed milk; and white chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar and milk but no cocoa solids, it is not considered to be a true chocolate; chocolate in its solid form was invented in 1847 and the result was the first modern chocolate bar; chocolate is very sensitive to temperature and humidity; ideal storage temperatures are between 59 and 63 F; chocolate stored close to other foods can absorb different aromas; when storing chocolate it should be in a dark place, wrapped in paper.

Health benefits are: cocoa or dark chocolate benefits the circulatory system; is beneficial to include anticancer, brain stimulator, cough preventor and antidiarrheal effects; it is not an approved aphrodisiac; some studies show a modest reduction in blood pressure after eating it daily; some researchers use cocoa based prescription drugs and this could help treat diabetes, dementia and other diseases; small but regular amounts of dark chocolate lower the possibility of a heart attack if eaten three or four times a week; chocolate is packed with high-quality anti oxidants that may reduce the risk of developing cancer and heart disease; cocoa and chocolate are rich in minerals that the body needs, including magnesium and iron; chocolate should be eaten in moderation, due to the fat and calorie intake; chocolate also contains phosphorus, potassium.




Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and butter. Stir in one cup of cocoa, sugar, eggs and 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla; mix together well. Add nuts. Pour mixture into a pan.

Bake 30 - 35 minutes, or until set. Cool completely. Mix 3 tablespoons of melted butter, 1/2 cup of cocoa, 1/4 cup of milk and vanilla. Beat powdered sugar into the mixture and blend until smooth. Spread frosting over the brownies.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, beat sugar, brown sugar, butter, shortening, eggs and vanilla at medium speed until well blended. Add flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, chips and nuts; beat until well blended.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake 10 - 12 minutes or until set. cool 2 minutes on baking sheets, cool completely on wire racks. Makes four dozen.

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda; set aside. In large bowl, beat brown sugar and butter at a medium speed until well blended. Add egg and vanilla; beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add flour mixture, cereal and chips. Beat at low speed just until combined. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake 20 minutes. Immediately transfer cookies with a spatula to wire rack. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine 1/2 cup of butter and 1/2 cup of syrup. Heat until melted; stir in one cup of chocolate chips until melted. Add sugar, eggs and cocoa. Stir until well blended. Stir in vanilla, flour, and nuts. Pour mixture into a 9 inch round cake pan. Bake 30 minutes. Invert cake onto wire rack to cool. To prepare glaze, melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips and two tablespoons butter with one tablespoon syrup in a small saucepan over low heat; remove from heat. Add almond extract and cherries; mix well. Spread over torte, allowing glaze to cascade down the sides of the cake.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese at medium speed until fluffy. Slowly add milk; beat until smooth. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Toss one cup of chocolate chips with flour. Add to cheesecake mixture; stir well. Pour mixture into a pie shell. Bake about 35 minutes or until center springs back when lightly touched. Cool.

To prepare glaze, combine 1/2 chocolate chips with 1/4 cup of the cream in a large saucepan; melt over low heat until smooth and glossy. Pour over cheesecake. Refrigerate one hour or until glaze is set. In a medium saucepan, melt white chocolate chips with remaining 2 tablespoons of cream; drop into 3 places over the chocolate glaze. Swirl lightly with a fork or knife. Store in refrigerator.

In a large bowl, combine milk, powdered sugar, coconut and pecans. Work together with hands until well blended. Cover and refrigerate three hours. Roll into one inch balls. Arrange on a baking sheet; cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. In small saucepan, melt chocolate and shortening over medium low heat; remove from heat. Using a toothpick or two tined fork, dip each ball in chocolate; let excess drip into saucepan. Place on a baking sheet and then place on waxed paper between layers and refrigerate in airtight containers.

Spray a 13 x 9 inch dish with nonstick spray. In a medium saucepan, melt sugar with butter and milk. Bring to a boil 5-7 minutes or until mixture reaches soft ball stage. Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips, marshmallow creme, vanilla and nuts. Mix until well blended; pour mixture into the greased pan. Cool completely and cut into small squares.

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Line three nine inch pans with parchment and then spray the paper with non stick cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup of chocolate with coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

In another bowl, mix three cups of sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, beat eggs on high speed about three minutes. Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla and malted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until well combined. Add sugar mixture; beat at high speed until combined. Divide batter among the three cake pans.




Bake 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely in pans; invert onto racks. Remove parchment paper.

Frosting: Finely chop one pound of chocolate. In a heavy saucepan bring whipped cream, two tablespoons of sugar and corn syrup to a boil over low heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat; add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted. Cut butter into pieces and add to frosting, whisk until smooth.

Place frosting in a bowl to cool. Stir occasionally until smooth. Spread between cake layers and over top and sides. Refrigerate cake up to three days; bring cake to room temperature before serving. Store in refrigerator.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray mini-muffin cups with non stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In another bowl, beat sugar, brown sugar, butter and peanut butter at medium speed until blended and fluffy. Add egg and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Beat flour mixture into butter mixture. Stir well, Refrigerate one hour.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place one in each muffin cup. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and immediately press a thumb print in the center of each. Cool 5 minutes. Then place on a wire rack.

Melt chips in the microwave until smooth, stir in Eagle Brand milk, add vanilla and stir. Place some ground peanuts in each dip on each cookie. Fill with the fudge icing.

Nine arrested as smuggling hits Ghana cocoa output Reuters South Africa Apr 14, 2010

ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghana said on Wednesday it had arrested nine customs and security officials suspected of helping cocoa smugglers they believe are behind a sharp drop in officially declared output.Private buyers declared just 518,304 tonnes of cocoa to Ghana's industry regulator Cocobod by April 1 since the start of the season in October, down 7.8 from the 562,327 tonnes bought during the same period a year ago, according to official data obtained by Reuters on Wednesday.

Customs spokesman Annie Anipa said an undercover surveillance team caught eight customs officials and a policeman on video aiding smuggling of cocoa beans to Ivory Coast, where prices are higher.

Cocobod Chief Executive Tony Fofie said some private buyers were also caught by the surveillance team delivering cocoa to the smugglers and that they would be suspended. "We consider these people as saboteurs and we will deal with them according to the law," Fofie said.

Ghana is hoping to raise cocoa output to 1 million tonnes by 2012, but expects official purchases this year to reach just 700,000 tonnes compared with 710,000 tonnes a year ago due to the effects of smuggling. In February, Cocobod said Ghana had already lost around 40,000 tonnes of cocoa due to smuggling.

Cocoa output from Ivory Coast, the world's top supplier, is also running below last year despite added beans from Ghana, as years of underinvestment since a 2002-03 civil war leave plantations in disarray. .Arrivals to the nation's ports hit just 881,311 tonnes by March 31, from 893,513 tonnes a year ago, according to the latest available data.

World cocoa prices scaled a 30-year peak in December 2009 after Ivory Coast closed the book on its worst harvest in at least five years, triggering supply worries.

Agriculture minister promises to evaluate cocoa export tax ANTARA April 14, 2010 (ANTARA News) - Agriculture Minister Suswono has promised to evaluate a finance ministerial decree which imposes a 15 percent tax on cocoa exports. "Basically, this policy will fully be supported if it has the aim of improving farmers` income and competitiveness but we will evaluate it if it proves to disadvantage them," the minister said here on Tuesday.




The finance minister has issued Decree No. 67 / 2010 on Cocoa Export Tax which reaches 15 percent effective April 1, 2010. Suwono said that his ministry would do its best to find a solution in order to serve the interest of cacao farmers. ."With the policy, cocoa will be exported in the form of powdered products or fermented cocoa oil, not in the form of cacao seeds," the minister said. He said that the value of fermented cocoa was higher and it would attract foreign investors to build their factories at home. The problem is that farmers are not informed of cocoa prices in the market and in this case traders could make use of it, Suswono said.

Earlier this month, chairman of the South Sulawesi Cacao Farmers Association (APKAI), Sulaiman said the imposition of the 15 percent cocoa export tax harmed the interest of cacao farmers.(*)

Export tax expected to help cacao processing industry Jakarta Post April 15, 2010 Association leaders are expecting the government’s decision to impose an export tax on cacao beans early this month will help the country’s cocoa processing industry. “The cacao tax policy will revive the cacao industry,” Indonesian Cacao Industry Association (AIKI) chairman Piter Jasman told a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Under decree No. 67/2010, dated April 1, the Finance Minister imposes a 5 percent tax on cacao beans exported at prices between US$2,000 and $2,750 per ton. This tax rate is increased to 10 percent for beans sold for more than $2,750 per ton.

According to the Association of Indonesian Fermented Cacao Producers (AKFI), cacao prices have remained stable on the domestic market, at between Rp 21,000 and Rp 22,000 per kilogram. However, farmers say the export tax had increased the price of cacao beans.

Piter said the tax policy would benefit not only the cocoa industry but also cacao farmers who now had more options in selling their beans. “Instead of depending on exports, farmers now have the option to sell their beans to domestic processors,” he said.

Piter suggested the government use funds gathered from the cacao tax to help cacao farmers, particularly to improve both their productivity and quality of their produce, considering that almost 90 percent of the cacao plantations in Indonesia are owned by individual farmers.

The funds collected from the export tax could be returned to cacao farmers to increase their production, he said.

Piter hoped that companies that traditionally exported cacao beans would promote exports of fermented or processed cacao, whose global demand had increased continually over recent years at 5 percent per year. In 2009, the global demand for cacao was estimated at 3.5 million tons a year.

With more exports of processed cacao products, local producers of fermented and processed cacao could also rely more domestic beans (rather than imports), he said.

Piter said the Indonesian cacao industry still imported about 30,000 tons of fermented cacao beans and 10,000 tons of cacao powder. Yet, these imports still did not fulfill the demand in the food industry. “We have to take advantage of exports of fermented or processed cacao, which has a higher value than unprocessed produce,” he said.Speaking on the sidelines of the press conference, Industry Minister MS Hidayat said the cacao-based product industries offered the highest added value in the country, followed by CPO, rubber and other products.

The Association of Cacao Producers (Askindo) has estimated that Indonesia’s cacao production to increase to 500,000 tons this year from about 480,000 tons last year, thanks to replanting program and intensification programs in a number of plantations across the country. The association also estimates that cacao exports will reach 380,000 tons this year from about 350,000 tons last year. Most of Indonesia’s cacao plantations are located in Sulawesi and Sumatra.



Labour Issues


Stakeholders pledge support for local cocoa consumption Nigerian Compass By Toluwabori Ojo 16 April 2010 Osun and Abia State Deputy Governor, Erelu Olusola Obada and her Abia State counterpart, Comrade Chris Akomas respectively, have said that Nigeria would continue to provide institutional and policy support for the promotion of local consumption of cocoa products in the country and other cocoa producing African countries.

This declaration was made penultimate week at a conference organised by the Cocoa Producers Alliance (COPAL) on the Health and Nutritional Benefits of Cocoa in Lagos.Presenting a keynote paper at the event, Erelu Obada noted that the setting up of the National Cocoa Development Committee in 1999 by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration enabled government to place greater emphasis on the cocoa industry. “Over the last decade, there had been accelerated development in the downstream sector of the cocoa industry in Nigeria,” she said.

Obada, who is also the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Increased Local Consumption of Cocoa, added that the “net result has been the steady increase in cocoa production and local processing.” She noted that local consumption has also been given accelerated promotion, leading to the manufacture and sale of cocoa beverages and inclusion of cocoa in the school feeding programmes of Osun and Ekiti States with Abia coming on stream from the next academic year.

The Osun Deputy Governor further observed that cocoa is a crop steeped in paradoxes. According to her, “Cocoa is a crop steeped in paradoxes. For one, it is a crop grown by those who do not consume it and consumed by those who do not grow it. Again, cocoa is one of the very few commodities that defy economic theories: demand and supply are not necessarily determinants for price fixing.”

She also added that “cocoa farmers sell or (better still) are forced to sell their produce at a price which does not take their production cost into consideration. Inputs are also dumped on producers without consideration for their ability to use it; they are also changed without recourse to the users!”

In her view, cocoa consuming countries in Europe and America are unlikely to welcome the promotion of local consumption of cocoa, given the obvious effect of such a development. While noting that Africa produces over 70 per cent of the global supply and consumes less than three percent, Obada said that such a situation continued to promote the inequality and obvious dangers of over-reliance on the consumer in the trade. “It is interesting to note that consuming countries are very uncomfortable with origin processing for basic economic reasons. Yet, it is obvious that origin processing not only enhances quality, it also ensures standards and overall good condition of the commodity. So conversely, they put strange economic demands on producing countries, intended to frustrate healthy relations which are mainly in favour of consumers.”

She also challenged businesses in producing countries to take up various products already developed by Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) and sister institutes in West Africa to increase local consumption of cocoa products.



Environmental Issue

Research & Development

Promotion & Consumption


Also speaking at the occasion, Comrade Chris Akomas observed that in the past couple of years, cocoa farmers in Abia state have been supported to produce premium quality cocoa beans. They have also been organised into strong cooperative groups.

According to him, cocoa production has increased by over 20 per cent across Nigeria because of support from government. “The success we witness in Abia is replicated across the country. Hence, we have a situation where cocoa production has gone up by more than 20 per cent across board,” he said.

Akomas reiterated it was the need to retain the tempo that made the cocoa producing states to meet in Akure recently for the first ever cocoa producing states conference. “We met in Akure only last month because we needed to strategise and ensure that the gains we had made were not wasted because of the negligence of people at the Federal level. “We realise the need to take a holistic approach to cocoa production, marketing and consumption. That was why we have adopted practicable resolutions for making the industry self-sustaining,” Akomas added.

He also hinted that his State will commence adding cocoa beverage to its school feeding programme for pupils in public schools in the next academic year. “Our school feeding programme will commence next September with cocoa as a major drink for all our pupils in public primary schools. We want to use this system to develop the culture of cocoa consumption in our citizens from an early age”.

Meanwhile, the President of the Cocoa Processors Association of Nigeria (COPAN), Mr. Akin Olusuyi expressed the need to include processors as major stakeholders in the consumption agenda. According to him, no progress can be made in the campaign for local consumption of cocoa products without the processing link in the marketing chain. Olusuyi insisted that with the obvious neglect of the processing arm, any programme that seeks to increase local consumption will not succeed. “The plank upon which consumption rests and can rest is local value addition which the processing companies provide”, he said. He added, “unfortunately, in spite of the huge investments and provision of substantial employment in value addition, the processing sector is mostly ignored in discussions on cocoa.”

The COPAN helmsman explained that with an average investment of over N3 billion, each of the eight cocoa processing factories employs a minimum of 200 professionals directly, with thousands others who provide ancillary services to the factories. “If Nigeria wants to get it right with cocoa consumption, then it has to begin with processing. In any case, you are not going to consume the raw cocoa beans and it will be foolhardy to send beans to Europe and expect them to transform and send it back to you at an affordable price,” he said.

He went ahead to state that “the wise thing to do is to promote origin processing so as to provide employment for our people as well as produce affordable cocoa to support the health and nutritional benefits of our people.”The host of the event, Ambassador Hope Ebai, Secretary General of COPAL, challenged the major producing countries of Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria to utilise their advantages to promote the consumption agenda being pushed by COPAL. He stated that the Alliance is made up of 10 producing countries which contribute over 85 per cent to the global production of the commodity. He promised that the Alliance was ready to collaborate with any of these countries to develop programmes for the generic promotion of cocoa consumption.Ebai also called on the private sector to key into the consumption agenda. He added that with adequate collaboration between the public and private sectors, the consumption agenda will be successful in producing countries. Participants at the programme were drawn from Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria.

Help get rid of swollen shoot disease - othersGhana News AgencyApril 12, 2010Breman Essiam (C/R), April 12, GNA - A one-day sensitisation programme on cocoa swollen shoot disease for about 150 cocoa farmers has ended at Breman Essiam in the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam District of the Central Region.

Participants were taken through topics including main cocoa diseases in Ghana, causes, symptoms, control, precautions to take when establishing a cocoa farm and application of chemicals among others.

The Ghana Cocoa Board (GCB) was the main sponsor, while the Cocoa Producers Alliance (COPAL) sub-regional cocoa swollen shoot project 2010 were the co-ordinators.



Others


Resource persons included Dr H. Dzahini-Obiatey, Mr M.K. Asua and Mr Owusu Domfeh, all of the Plant Pathology Division of Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG). According to Dr Dzahini-Obiatey, the project is a three-year initiative for all cocoa growing areas in Ghana, and that the first phase will cover Western, Central and Brong Ahafo Regions. He said Ghana, once a leading world producer of cocoa, now ranks third due to disease, dry weather, fire outbreaks and smuggling of the produce to neighbouring countries.

Mr Erick K. Adjei, Central Regional Manager of the GCB, appealed to cocoa farmers to allow the agric officer to cut down affected cocoa trees to allow for re-planting, adding that GCB would supply the needed seedlings and inputs.

Odeefuor Afankwa II, Omanhen of Breman Essiam Traditional Area, who chaired the function, expressed appreciation to GCB and all stakeholders associated with the project. Odeefuor Afankwa appealed to farmers to go back and put what they had learnt into useful practice to enable them to produce more cocoa for their own welfare and that of Ghana.

In much of the world, people believe they cannot "survive" without chocolate. But most farmers who grow cocoa live in poverty and have probably never even tasted a chocolate bar.

Cocoa is grown principally by smallholder farmers in West Africa, Central and South America and Asia. Although cocoa is largely produced in developing countries, it is mostly consumed in industrialized countries.

For cocoa, the buyers in the consuming countries are the processors and the chocolate manufacturers. A few multinational companies dominate both cocoa processing and chocolate manufacturing.

With the aim of ensuring transparency of the international cocoa trade and achieving a sustainable world cocoa economy, producing countries will negotiate a new international agreement with importing countries, in Geneva from 19 to 23 April 2010, under UNCTAD auspices.

The agreement, the seventh of its kind, will provide a mechanism for seeking to reconcile the sometimes conflicting interests of cocoa farmers, exporters, importing countries and the multinational firms that process the cocoa beans, all within a context of environmental and economic sustainability.

The current International Cocoa Agreement, 2001 was concluded in Geneva in March 2001. The new agreement will come into effect upon ratification by five exporting countries (producing at least 80% of the world cocoa crop) and five importing countries (consuming at least 60% of the cocoa crop).




TIT BITS(Source: Business Recorder – www.brecorder.com)

Sugar climbs in LondonLONDON (April 13, 2010): Sugar futures rose on Monday, with whites leading the charge due to tight supplies and news of cash buying although many in the trade were wary of whether a relief rally was finally under way, analysts said. News of a deal to aid debt-wracked Greece also provided a boost for the softs complex, with cocoa market players looking keenly toward release of vital grind demand data this week.

Liffe sugar sharply up, cocoa downLONDON (April 14, 2010): May white sugar ended $13.40 higher at $536.60 per tonne on Tuesday. Market derived support from tightness in available supplies ahead of Thursday's contract expiry. July cocoa on Liffe ended 30 pounds lower at 2,141 pounds a tonne as market digested news of an 8.1 percent rise in the first quarter European grind, year-on-year.

Liffe sugar surgesLONDON (April 15, 2010): May white sugar ended $11.10 higher at $547.70 per tonne on Wednesday. Market supported by expected strong Russian imports during May and demand from Pakistan. Main short-term focus is the expiry of the May contract on Thursday. July cocoa on Liffe ended 6 pounds lower at 2,135 pounds a tonne. Strength of sterling against the dollar helped to weigh on prices in London.

Liffe sugar lowerLONDON (April 16, 2010): May white sugar ended $10.40 lower at $537.30 per tonne on Thursday. Firm dollar helped to trigger profit taking after recent run-up. Contract expired at the close of business with a mixture of Brazils, Guatemalans and Thais expected to be delivered. July cocoa on Liffe ended 9 pounds higher at 2,125 pounds a tonne. US MIDDAY: sugar and coffee downNEW YORK (April 16, 2010): Summaries of the ICE Futures US cocoa, coffee and sugar markets during early trade on Thursday. July arabica coffee fell 0.15 cent to $1.3335 per lb at 11:08 am EDT (1508 GMT). Ranging from $1.3370 to $1.3260, the lowest intraday level since March 22.

Liffe sugar stays lowerLONDON (April 17, 2010): August white sugar ended $10.30 lower at $486.30 per tonne. Firm dollar weighed on sugar futures. Market focused on expectations of fresh import demand from Russia and United States. Dealers noted smaller-than-expected delivery against Thursday's expiry of Liffe May white sugar futures contract. Dollar's gains extended by risk aversion after SEC charges Goldman Sach with fraud.




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US MIDDAY: cocoa rallies; sugar, coffee fallNEW YORK (April 17, 2010): Summaries of the ICE Futures US cocoa, coffee and sugar markets during early trade on Friday. July arabica coffee contract dropped 1.65 cents to $1.3175 per lb at 11:07 am EDT (1507 GMT). Ranging from $1.3375 to $1.3155, the lowest intraday level since March 15.

Commodity prices diverge on mixed economic dataLONDON (April 18, 2010): Oil prices diverged last week as traders reacted to demand forecasts and the performance of the dollar, while metals futures hit multi-month highs. Crude oil began this week on a downbeat note, sinking under pressure from mediocre demand in the United States, and falling further after the International Energy Agency warned about risks of high oil costs.




Documents

COPAL COCOA Info. 383.doc · Web viewDorea expected global cocoa demand in 2010 will sit anywhere from up or down 1 percent, if measured by grind data. Barry Callebaut (BARN.S), the