Cocoa butter ratios hardly changed in Asia

Cocoa butter ratios were hardly changed in Asia on Friday and are likely to remain depressed next week because of ample supply, but steady demand for powder kept prices above $5,000 a tonne, dealers said. Cocoa butter, a key ingredient for making chocolates, were offered at ratios of 1.00 to 1.05 times London futures in Singapore and Malaysia, unchanged from two weeks ago.
"Butter is still under pressure and we haven't seen a pick up in demand ahead of Christmas yet. I also heard the Indonesians are quoting lower ratios at below 1.0 times, but I am not sure if it's traded," said a dealer in Singapore. "But powder is holding up quite well. The demand is there. If you look at Asia, most people are using powder, and the demand is actually increasing," he added. Cocoa powder, used for coatings in chocolate-making, beverages and ice cream, was steady at $5,300 to $5,400 a tonne.