

International Conference 2025
International conference
Preliminary program November 4 and 5, 2025
Price chaos in the cocoa market: Conflicts of interest - room for change?
Meeting: November 4, 2025 from 7 to 9 pm
Conference: November 5, 2025 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Registration fee: 90,00 EUR
Venue: Chocolate Museum, Cologne, Germany
Conference language: English
Moderation: Conny Czymoch
November 04, 2025
19:00 | Registration
19:15 | Welcome:
19:30 | Keynote speech: Prof. Dr. habil. Lisa Fröhlich
The future needs change: Transformation of global supply chains
20:15 | Get-together with drinks and snacks
November 05, 2025
08:30 a.m. | Coffee and registration
The price of cocoa has remained relatively stable for more than 10 years. Full stocks, reliable harvest forecasts and low prices did not cause nervousness, even when cocoa was bought in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire that had not even grown on the trees yet.
A below-average harvest in 2022/23 was manageable - the next year would certainly make up for it! But the 2023/24 harvest was also unexpectedly poor in both Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. In the end, the global cocoa harvest was 11% below the previous year's level. The markets reacted nervously and the price rose - by 100%, 200%, even 300%. The inflation-adjusted price had not been this high for decades. The chaotic price development is making work in the industry more difficult. Is this the new reality - or are we only seeing one side of the coin? What future scenarios are possible?
The following key questions will be addressed during the course of the day:
- How is the current cocoa price structured?
- What role does market speculation play?
- What are the current influencing factors, such as climate change and other challenges?
- What are the short and long-term forecasts for the cocoa market?
17:00 | End of the workshop
The international conference is jointly organized by the Chocolate Museum Cologne and the "Südwind Institut".