Tag - cocoa

 
Menu
Search
 
May 10, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

COCOA

Farmer Moises Schmidt shows a cocoa bean at the Schmidt Agricola plantation in Riachao das Neves, Bahia state, Brazil, on Nov. 19, 2024.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2025
Brazil's would-be cocoa king aims to revolutionize industry with giant farm
The farmer's $300 million plan is the largest and the most innovative in the Brazilian state of Bahia, but not the only one.
A farmhand prunes trees on a 4-year-old cocoa plantation, replanted after swollen shoot disease, in Enchi, Ghana, on March 4.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 23, 2025
Cocoa crunch isn’t over yet as top growers struggle with supply
Africa’s cocoa heartland has long grappled with blight and aging trees, leaving farms vulnerable as severe weather hammered crops in recent years.
Cocoa beans are pictured next to a warehouse at the village of Atroni, near Sunyani, Ghana, on April 11, 2019.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 25, 2024
How a hedge fund exodus reshaped global cocoa markets 
The impact of hedge funds' exit illustrates how reliant trading has become on these lightly regulated funds that increasingly shape financial markets.
Ebenezer Agyarko tends to his cocoa plantation in Kwabeng, north of Accra, the capital of Ghana.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 22, 2024
Chocolate prices unlikely to decline even as African cocoa harvest improves
Issues that have long hobbled the industry remain, meaning bean prices aren’t likely to fall back to previous levels.
Futures of robusta coffee beans have hit their highest price in over 40 years, while cocoa prices have more than doubled this year.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 9, 2024
Cocoa’s dizzying volatility is spilling into the coffee market
Many major traders deal in both commodities, so soaring cocoa prices are squeezing market players for cash and forcing them out of coffee trading.
Customers look at chocolate bars at Cacao Store, a specialist chocolate store, in Tokyo. Japan is a large market for high-value confectionery and it sources about 75% of its cocoa imports from Ghana.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 30, 2024
Chocoholics in Japan set for sticker shock after cocoa price surge
Crop declines in top suppliers Ivory Coast and Ghana leave buyers struggling for beans and prices more than doubling since the start of the year.
A farmers open cocoa pods in Cote d’Ivoire in October 2018. Many West African farmers make just enough to subsist, with most lacking the means to re-invest in their small plots.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2024
The meltdown in chocolate is coming as prices signal supply shortages
It’s worth remembering that cocoa beans traded a year ago for $2,500 and that in 2000 they changed hands at just $650.
A farmer at his cocoa farm in Gabeadji near San Pedro, Cote d'Ivoire, in January
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 1, 2023
Chocolate could get even pricier if Africa’s cocoa crop flops
Cocoa prices have soared on fears that bad weather and crop disease will hurt output in Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana, which make up two-thirds of world supply.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 1, 2021
Glitches and design flaws limit value of Japan's COVID-19 tracing app
As a third wave of infections overwhelms contact tracers at public health centers, many are leaning more heavily on the state-developed COCOA app. But is it up to the task?
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2019
Chocolate makers hobble Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana poverty-fighting cocoa premium with discounts
Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana's move to combat farmer poverty with a living income premium for their cocoa sales is being undermined by chocolate makers scaling down purchases and negotiating discounts on other parts of the price, sources said.
BUSINESS
Jul 12, 2018
EU urged to draft law on child labor, deforestation in coffee and cocoa areas as voluntary curbs fail
The European Union must set mandatory rules to tackle child labor and deforestation in the cocoa and coffee sectors, after years of voluntary action has failed to spur widespread change, stakeholders and policymakers said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 7, 2018
Chocolate's sustainability challenge
Without a more sustainable cocoa crop, the world may need to find a new favorite treat.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 3, 2017
Dandelion Chocolate: Half cafe, half factory, all cacao flavor
It's been a year since San Francisco's Dandelion Chocolate arrived in Tokyo with its artisan, small-batch, bean-to-bar ethos and laid-back California style — and it has proved a perfect fit in the trendy and rapidly gentrifying Kuramae district just south of Asakusa.
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2015
Chocolate shortage spurs call to revive cocoa farming in Amazon basin
With chocolate prices surging, a former Credit Suisse Group AG banker wants to help revive cocoa farming in the Amazon basin, where the beans are thought to have evolved about 15,000 years ago.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 18, 2014
West African powerhouse Cote d'Ivoire battles to keep out Ebola
The billboard depicts a masked health worker in a biohazard suit looming over a bed-ridden patient. Above them, bright red letters warn commuters on a busy Abidjan street that "The Ebola risk is always there".
Global militaries to study India-Pakistan fighter jet battle
The Indian Air Force's Rafale fighter jets. India and Pakistan aircraft engaged in a dogfight on Wednesday.
Man admitted to 2025 Osaka Expo with 85-year-old ticket
The Osaka Expo, which opened last month, runs through mid-October.
In his first appearance, Pope Leo offers three big clues about his papacy
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States, appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Thursday.
Economists debate consumption-tax cut as Japanese politicians warm to the idea
A supermarket in Chiba. Politicians in Japan might cut the consumption tax to help households and the economy.
Two men arrested after storming Tokyo elementary school and injuring staff
Tachikawa Municipal 3rd Elementary School, where two men broke in on Thursday
With a new Shibuya studio, Apple Music bets big on Japan
Apple Music personalities (from left) Ebro Darden, Kentaro Ochiai, Zane Lowe and Mino came together for a special recording in late April to discuss music and celebrate the newly opened Apple Music studio in Tokyo.
Kazuki Nagasawa's sustainable designs are rooted in tradition
For centuries, artisans have unraveled strands of the fibrous bark of "shuro" trees to create a medley of everyday objects. Designer Kazuki Nagasawa is now transforming the traditional material into ethereal contemporary pieces.
SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025 expands to become one of Asia's largest startup events
SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025 was bustling with participants of various nationalities Thursday, and multiple languages could be heard around the room as many engaged in conversations throughout the day.
Celebrating Japan’s defeat at Shimoda’s Black Ships Festival
Tatsumi Onose (right), who plays the part of Commodore Matthew Perry in Shimoda's Black Ship Festival, says the historical episode the event is based on should be remembered for its positives more than its negatives.
'Big picture thinker': Ispace CEO Hakamada on reaching the moon and dreaming of starships
Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of Ispace, says his primary interest in space development is not to abandon Earth, but to protect it.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan
By Hanako Lowry

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society
Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER