%{{tag.tag}} {{articledata.title}} {{moment(articledata.cdate)}} @{{articledata.company.replace(" ","")}} comment %Cocoa prices are lower on demand concerns following weak quarterly financial results from chocolate giant %Hershey Co. (NYSE: $HSY ) and snack company %Mondelez International (NASDAQ: $MDLZ ). The price of cocoa trading in New York is down as much as 2% after Pennsylvania-based Hershey said that its chocolate sales in this year’s first quarter declined 14% and added that it is bracing for a $20 million cost increase from import tariffs in the current second quarter. Hershey’s management team said it has no choice but to pass the cost increase onto consumers, hurting demand at a time when chocolate prices were already near record highs. At the same time, Mondelez, the maker of Oreo cookies, reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter sales and said consumers are cutting back on snack purchases due to economic uncertainty and high chocolate prices. Cocoa prices are currently at $8,700 U.S. per tonne, the lowest level since April 18 of this year. The price had been above $10,000 U.S. a tonne to start the year. Shortages of cocoa crops in Africa due to climate change and poor growing conditions had pushed prices to all-time highs at various points over the past year. However, data now shows that the global supply of cocoa might finally be rebounding, helping to move prices lower. The latest market data from Bloomberg shows that Nigerian cocoa exports rose 24% year-over-year to 27,564 metric tonnes in April. Nigeria is the world's fifth-largest cocoa producer. A rebound in cocoa shipments and inventories is bearish for prices, and, along with weakening demand, are pushing those prices downward. Cocoa inventories in U.S. ports are now at a six-month high, with deliveries also rising from the Ivory Coast in Africa. The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) in February of this year forecast a global cocoa surplus of 142,000 metric tonnes for this year, the first surplus in nearly five years. The stock of Hershey Co. is flat on the year at $167.13 U.S. per share. Over the past 12 months, the stock has declined 15%.