Olam sees 2015-16 global cocoa deficit of 150,000 tonnes

Olam is forecasting there will be a global cocoa deficit of 150,000 tonnes in the 2015/16 season, chief operating officer of the company's cocoa unit Amit Suri said on Friday. Suri said dry weather in top producing region West Africa was a concern as crops developed. "The two major factors are the main crop settings in Ivory Coast and Ghana and that we're seeing grind grow by 2 percent because last year's minus 4 percent overshot consumption," he told Reuters.
"We are not factoring in a growth in consumption this year," he added, noting this was due to macroeconomic factors including slowing growth in China and emerging markets.