Steve Cameron blog: Saturday, April 18, 2020: Hey, I’ll help
Still here.
Some things about our coronavirus response seem pretty obvious.
For instance, it’s clear that we should help various businesses and industries stay afloat in these tough times.
You know, whenever we can, and ...
I’m willing to do my part.
We know the airline industries are struggling, so I’m taking a flight next month.
Okay, yes, I’m going to see my back surgeon, so perhaps that doesn’t count as a voluntary act of assisting a stricken business.
I suppose having more metal crammed along your spine maybe isn’t recorded as a purchase driven by social concerns.
Fair enough.
Although ...
Southwest Airlines will still bank my fares, so that’s something.
Still, the idea is to help when it’s not mandatory.
Okay, so, there’s another virus-hit industry that I’m going to assist as often, and with as much gusto, as humanly possible.
It seems that chocolate is in trouble.
Wait, I’m serious.
What with a lack of vacations, and the absence of large weddings with massive cakes, the demand for chocolate is down worldwide.
Not at my place, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
On the business side of things, this lack of chocolate purchasing — especially in Europe, where demand is usually greatest — has caused an unhappy ripple effect.
Here’s the scoop, courtesy of Bloomberg News ...
“Ivory Coast, the top cocoa bean producer, and Ghana, the second-biggest, imposed a premium of $400 a metric ton for a so-called living income differential for the 2020-21 cocoa crop, boosting costs for processors.”
There’s more ...
“Chocolate demand will fall as a direct result of rising prices and a sharp contraction in economic growth,” said Eric Bergman, a vice president at JSG Commodities in Norwalk, Connecticut.
“On top of the West African premium, the pandemic is now accelerating the decline in consumption, as disposable income for luxury goods continues to decline,” he said.
I’ve never considered chocolate as a luxury item, but there you go.
A few experts pointed to Easter, and the decline of chocolate bunnies, as an indicator of how the market will continue to underperform during the era of the coronavirus.
Personal aside: I’ve never actually looked at bunnies, chocolate or otherwise, when hunting for stock bargains.
But what do I know?
I CAN say that any drop in the global cocoa industry will not be worsened in this house.
There’s plenty of chocolate consumed here in normal times, but now that I’m helping a business in trouble, I can feel free to go wild.
Hoo, boy!
You know, there are times when doing your part to aid all mankind in a crisis feels really, really satisfying.
I want to be a true humanitarian about this, so ...
YUM!!
^^^
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