Developing countries are developing a voracious appetite for chocolate, pushing cocoa prices and related exchange traded notes to a three-year high.
The iPath DJ-UBS Cocoa TR Sub-Index ETN (NYSEArca: NIB) is up 14.7% year-to-date while the iPath Pure Beta Cocoa ETN (NYSEArca: CHOC) is 12.6% higher. [Chocolate High: Cocoa ETNs Surge]
ICE cocoa futures were hovering around $3,087 per metric ton Wednesday.
According to Euromonitor International, emerging countries’ share of global chocolate sales rose to 45% this year, compared to 33% a decade ago, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Leading chocolate sales growth among the developing markets, India is projected to see sales growth of 13.9% this year, followed by Algeria 10.9%, Nigeria 10.4% and Saudi Arabia 8.5%.
“Emerging-market demand is the principle reason behind the steady and consistent rise that we’ve seen in the cocoa market,” Sterling Smith, a futures specialist at Citigroup, said in the article. “Is that demand enough to propel it higher? Oh, yes.”
The emerging middle class has made chocolate into an affordable, everyday treat. Meanwhile, new products, improved transportation and better infrastructure have eased the distribution of confections.