Cocoa futures gained as Ghana’s plan to limit some supplies for next season fuelled fresh worries about continued shortages.

The world’s second-biggest grower has told buyers that it will determine how much of the next crop can be sold as specialty cocoa based on total production, and that the regulator will allocate beans “equitably” among buyers, Bloomberg reported last week.

The most-active cocoa futures contract gained as much as 6.4% in New York on Monday, the biggest intra-day jump in over a week. While prices have eased from a record set in April - partly on expectations for better supplies next season - they’re still up roughly 90% this year following bad harvests in West Africa.

The move to restrict some purchases signals there’s concern that the country’s next crop may not recover as significantly as some people expect, even with favourable weather and timely supplies of pesticide and fertiliser. 

While a good mix of sun and rain in West Africa is positive for crop development, cocoa markets will “remain choppy until there are greater assurances on a recovery,” consultant Judy Ganes wrote in a report. 

  - Bloomberg