Cocoa Beans Chocolate Museum Cologne
Cocoa Beans Chocolate Museum Cologne

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".