Cocoa delivered the clearest agricultural move of the week, rising 6.6% to $6,039 a tonne, while wheat was almost unchanged at 608.5 cents a bushel. For African stock markets today, that matters far more than a generic commodities headline: it directly affects BRVM-listed plantation and processing names tied to Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa producer, and it spills into Lagos, Nairobi and Tunis through export earnings, input costs and margin expectations.
The contrast with coffee, down 5.4% to 313.6 cents a pound, and cotton, up 4.3% to 80.22 cents, created a more uneven agricultural picture across the continent. Currency moves added a second layer. The dollar rose 0.73% against the Kenyan shilling to KES 129.24, 0.54% against the naira to NGN 1,374.6, and 2.58% against the Tunisian dinar to TND 2.9385. That boosts the local-currency value of dollar export receipts, but it also raises the cost of imported fuel, packaging, fertiliser and freight.
Key figures
- Cocoa: +6.6% to $6,039 a tonne
- Coffee: -5.4% to 313.6 cents a pound
- Cotton: +4.3% to 80.22 cents a pound
- USD/KES: +0.73% to 129.24
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