There’s a good chance that last-minute box of chocolates will be cheaper this Valentine’s Day.
Cocoa supplies in West Africa and Latin America, (which account for 70% of the world’s chocolate supply), are booming this year, Bloomberg reports — an output that has pushed cocoa futures to the lowest level in nine years. Those low levels means buying chocolate just got cheaper for candy manufacturers like Mondelez (MDLZ), according to Bloomberg, who then pass on a small savings to consumers. That’s good news, especially considering shoppers are slated to spend $1.8 billion on candy for Valentine’s Day.
“Production is going to be much higher, and that’s why prices are falling,” Donald Selkin, the New York-based chief market strategist at Newbridge Securities, first told Bloomberg. To reverse the trend, “you need civil unrest in these typically unstable African countries or a pickup in demand,” he said.
Hedge funds are also predicting that coca prices will keep falling, Bloomberg reports — meaning you can fill your chocolate craving at a cheaper price even after your Valentine’s Day celebrations.