Valentine's Day Getting More Expensive Thanks To Ivory Coast (HSY)

Valentine's Day just got a little bit more expensive, as cocoa prices have soared after the president of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, called for a month long ban on exports, writes

This move is done to prevent his rival, Lauren Gbagbo from taking over the presidency. No one is sure how effective it will ultimately be, but cocoa prices have risen to levels not seen in three decades. "The larger players are taking measures to secure themselves. People have bought cocoa and cocoa products to mitigate their risks," said an unamed European cocoa trader. ICE May cocoa jumped 3.4 per cent or $109 to $3,282 per tonne by 1120 GMT, having earlier touched a one-year peak of $3,340 per tonne. There has been a dispute over who is the rightful president of the Ivory Coast since the November 28 elections. "If it's enforced prices of cocoa will go through the roof," Gary Mead, an analyst with the VM Group in London, said. "If he [Ouattra] is serious, if they can enforce such a trade embargo, the disruption would be huge." But Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital, said it's just an overreaction. "The market is just overreacting today. Ivorian cocoa farmers and exporters still want to make their money," he said. Shares of Hershey

are off 57 cents today to trade at $47.26, a loss of 1.2%.