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☆ As cocoa prices soar this Easter, chocolatiers consider alternatives
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( John Towfighi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Cocoa prices are surging so high, the Easter Bunny might want to hoard its chocolate. Poor climate and crop diseases in West Africa – home to 70% of global cocoa production – have tightened supply and caused prices to skyrocket. As prices rise, some chocolatiers are exploring cost-cutting alternatives, like diversifying their products to depend less on cocoa. Yet mining often destroys farms and the possibility of a livelihood in cocoa production, Issaka said. “Given the persistently high cocoa prices, it may be necessary for us to make responsible adjustments to pricing in the future,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.

Persons: Hershey’s, Shaquille O’Neal, Michele Buck, Billy Roberts, Roberts, ” Roberts, Issaka, Will Kletter, Kletter, “, Peng Xu, Christopher Taylor, Li, Taylor, ”, “ We’re, “ It’s, ” Taylor Organizations: CNN, Cadbury, NCA, “ Brands, Industries, International Cocoa Organization, Rabobank, US, ”, Euromonitor Locations: West Africa, North Region, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Silicon, Washington ,, Manhattan

☆ With a low cocoa supply, this Valentine’s Day chocolate prices are up
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( John Towfighi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Rising cocoa prices aren’t the only concern for customers this Valentine's Day. Last Thursday, Hershey Co. said it would cut 5% of its workforce after historic cocoa prices and inflation-weary consumers dampened fourth quarter earnings. “And it looks like it’s not necessarily going to subside anytime soon.”The Supreme Valentine’s Day SweetRoughly 92% of Americans say they plan to share chocolate and candy for Valentine’s Day this year, according to the National Confectioners Association. In 2023, Valentine’s Day chocolate and candy sales exceeded $4 billion, the NCA says. Issaka said that while high demand and low supply raise prices, cocoa farmers are getting squeezed.

Persons: ”, Michele Buck, Billy Roberts, ” Roberts, Lindsey Nicholson, Marnie Ives, Ives, ” Ives, “ It’s, Karl Schneider, Roberts’s, Issifu, Issaka, ” Issaka, “ I’m, Cote, Will Kletter, Sabi Ibarra Guerrero, Uwe Gneiting, Gneiting, Joke Aerts, Aerts, ” Aerts, Sia Kambou, Price, Tony’s, “, they’ve, CNN’s Eva Rothenberg Organizations: CNN, Hershey Co, National Confectioners Association, NCA, Cocoa, Oxfam America, Getty, Fairtrade, Cote d’Ivoire, “ Locations: West Africa, North America, Manhattan, Queens , New York, Neck, NY, Bloomfield , NJ, Ghana, North Region, Cote d’Ivoire, Silicon, Africa, Accra, Cote, Hermankono, AFP

☆ Beef prices are at record highs — how much pricier will your steak get?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Retail beef prices in the U.S. are at record highs, pushing up prices of beef-based products from burgers to steaks and steak tartare. Retail beef prices are currently hovering around record levels of about $8 per pound, according to data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). "All consumers will be paying more for all beef products for several more years," Wells Fargo's Chief Agricultural Economist Michael Swanson told CNBC via email. "As cattlemen retain cows to rebuild the herd, there is a much lower supply of cattle to provide beef," Swanson said. With elevated cow slaughter, has come tighter cattle supplies, and an expectation that domestic cattle supplies will remain tight into the future.

Persons: That's, Wells, Michael Swanson, Swanson, Brandon Bell, Brian Earnest, Adam Speck, Speck Organizations: Portland Press Herald, Getty, CNBC, United States Department of Agriculture, USDA, Gro Locations: U.S, Texas, Kansas, Quemado , Texas, Gro Intelligence's

☆ Pork belly prices are up 100% this year — your breakfast bacon is about to get pricier
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Wholesale pork belly prices are currently trading at 270.89 cents per pound. And consumers are about to see even higher prices of bacon, which is primarily cut from pork bellies. Analysts who spoke to CNBC attributed the surge in pork prices partly to a recently imposed animal welfare regulation in California, which came into effect July 1. Proposition 12 played a "major role" in the surge in prices, said Urner Barry pork market analyst, Ryan Hojnowski. Consequently, sellers of bacon will want to keep their profit margins up — thus, the spike in pork belly wholesale prices is going to translate to higher retail and food services prices, he said.

Persons: Bacon, Zachary Zirlin, —, That's, Brian Earnest, Cobank's Earnest, Earnest, Barry, Ryan Hojnowski, Hojnowski, Urner Barry, Glenn Asakawa Organizations: Eyeem, Getty, CNBC, National Pork Producers Council, Medianews, Denver Locations: California, FactSet, Colorado

☆ Why orange juice futures are spiking
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Orange juice futures are hitting record highs because of bad weather and a nasty citrus disease. “Record-high orange juice prices in 2023 are a consequence of a very tight market, with smaller-than-expected production and low inventories,” he added. Spiking futures prices could mean higher prices at the grocery store, he said. On Walmart’s website, a 52-ounce bottle of Tropicana Original orange juice currently goes for about $4. Shoppers may not tolerate prices getting any higher, especially when they don’t see orange juice as a staple.

Persons: ”, Billy Roberts, Hurricanes Ian, Nicole, Chandan Khanna, Citrus, Mathew Joyner, Roberts, “, Andrés Padilla, Jack Scoville Organizations: New, New York CNN, OJ, Hurricanes, Getty, US Department of Agriculture, Citrus Mutual, Rabobank, Price Futures Group, Bureau of Labor Statistics Locations: New York, Florida, America, Brazil, Mexico, United States

☆ India rice export ban, explained
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

But for importers and loyal consumers of Indian-grown non-basmati varieties, the ban has been disruptive, including in the United States. Internationally, the ban is causing an upheaval in the market and could especially impact places that rely on Indian rice exports. “So we’re looking to have a really healthy, robust US rice crop.”The United States primarily imports specialty and fragrant rice, he said, like arborio rice used to make risotto; jasmine rice; basmati rice and other varieties. “We are completely dependent on non-basmati rice,” said Kiran Kumar Pola, director of Deccan Foods, an importer and distributor of non-basmati Indian rice that operates out of Arizona. “We at India Bazaar understand the concerns raised in light of the recent ban on Indian Non-Basmati Raw Rice,” the post reads.

Persons: We’ve, USA Rice, what’s, “, ”, Tanner Ehmke, Anupam Nath, Ehmke, Joseph Glauber, it’s, Glauber, El Niño, “ There’s, Peter Bachmann, Charles Hart, ” Rice, Rory Doyle, Kiran Kumar Pola, Sona Masoori, Kerala Matta, Rice Organizations: New, New York CNN, ” USA Rice Federation, ”, International Food Policy Research, International Food Policy Research Institute, USA Rice Federation, BMI, Bloomberg, Deccan Foods, Facebook Locations: New York, United States, USA, India, CoBank, Asia, ” India, Guwahati, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Southeast Asia, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal, West Africa, Pakistan, South Asia, California, Pace , Mississippi, Arizona, Kerala, South India, Pola, Dallas

☆ Egg prices are crashing. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

One reason: Shoppers responded to high egg prices by buying less. When prices were shooting up, “everybody and their brother had a story about what egg prices were doing,” said Amy Smith, vice president at Advanced Economic Solutions, a consulting firm. Retail egg prices have been declining at a more moderate clip. (On an annual basis, prices are still high: In the year through April, egg prices were 21.4% higher.) That’s because supermarkets and grocery stores set retail egg prices, and they don’t want customers to be scared away by wild swings.

☆ Why egg prices are still going up
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But nothing comes close to the rise in egg prices. In the year through November, not adjusted for seasonal swings, egg prices jumped 49%, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wholesale prices hit a recordAvian flu has been a problem in the US for several months now, but in recent weeks wholesale prices have been hitting records. The supply squeeze isn’t the only thing contributing to higher egg prices, said Metz. Friday’s wholesale prices were the same as Thursday’s, the first time pricing held steady since October, she said.

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