Cocoa Decadent Today On Ivory Coast Ban (NIB, HSY)

As the struggle for power in the Ivory Coast lingers, internationally-recognized President Alassane Ouattara today called for a one-month ban on cocoa exports from the Ivory Coast. The Ivory Coast is the world's largest cocoa producer, as mentioned in a previous Benzinga article.

According to anAP article, "The export ban was proposed by Alassane Ouattara as a move to choke off funding for the incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to concede defeat. It is unclear whether the ban will be heeded by cocoa growers or how it will be enforced."

On news of the ban, chocolate prices are expected to increase sharply. A Bloomberg article notes, "Cocoa prices may advance by as much as 10 percent after the president-elect of Ivory Coast, the world's largest producer, banned exports for a month, according to Hackett Financial Advisors Inc. Cocoa, used in chocolate, has climbed about 14 percent since the elections on concern that unrest would disrupt supply."

The most direct way to trade cocoa without trading futures or commodities is the Cocoa Subindex Total Return ETN (NYSE: NIB), which is up 3% today from Friday's close. Non-fund (direct) cocoa prices themselves hit over 3,320, over 4.7% higher than Friday's close. Hershey's (NYSE: HSY) is relatively unchanged today, currently only down 0.5% from Friday's close.