Recent monthly commodity prices for cocoa and palm oil shows a slight drop in cocoa and a rise in the price of palm oil.

Current price for cocoa stands at US$2,890 per tonne, down from US$3,040 a month ago. In the same period the price of Palm Oil rose slightly from USD$736 per tonne to USD$756.

Despite such fluctuations the worldwide appetite for chocolate is expected to increase cocoa demand by 30% in 2020.

For the Solomon Islands the facts still remains that 90% of cocoa farmers are based in Ghana, and a lot can be gained from their experience.

For example the Ghana Cocoa Board provides funds to qualified Licensed Buying Companies (LBCs) to purchase cocoa during peak cocoa season. The seed funds to the LBCs for cocoa purchases are on revolving basis, which means that the LBC are given specific amounts based on their bank guarantees.

Additional funds are disbursed for cocoa purchases once LBCs have purchased and delivered quantity of cocoa equivalent to the amount released.

The price for Palm Oil is expected to remain steady, although analysts say that big buyers in India have been buying soyabean and crude soya oil instead of palm oil.

They say the price of palm oil prices need to fall for India’s palm oil purchase to pick up, although they say the rising middle class in China may offset such traditional markets in the long term – as health conscious consumers rise.