Here is how the agricultural commodities markets have behaved for the crops most widely produced in Africa:
Cocoa: on the futures market in London, a tonne of cocoa stands at 1,797 pounds sterling, about 3% more than in January 2019, which reflects a well-balanced market.
Coffee: the situation is variable. Whereas the price of robusta has fallen for the third year in a row, dropping from 1,538 pounds sterling to 1,330 in the space of a year, the price of arabica has risen by 21% from 102.5 to 124.2 cents per pound to in New York. This sees the end of a difficult two years for arabica.
Cotton: it has had a lacklustre year, a victim of the US / China trade war. The price of cotton has dropped for the second consecutive year, down by 4.6% at end December 2019 to 69.05 cents per pound.
Palm oil: the price has seen a spectacular rise of 47%, a record for the past decade. The price at end 2019 reached $743.64 per tonne.
Rice: export prices for rice have declined throughout Asia because of the size of global stocks estimated at 189 million tonnes at end 2019, equivalent to 36% of global needs.
Sugar: currently at $361 per tonne compared to $345.4 a year ago, the price for white sugar has risen. The price for brown sugar in New York has risen by 4.6% from 12.65 to 13.49 cents per pound in a year.
Source: CommodAfrica
