Cocoa Hits 11-Month Low as Top Suppliers Raise Farmers’ Pay

Cocoa futures touched the lowest in 11 months in New York as traders expect higher farmers’ pay will encourage sales and boost crop supplies.

Second-largest African supplier Ghana announced on Thursday the amount it pays farmers for their cocoa beans was rising for the second time this season. That’s after prices for cocoa farmers in Ivory Coast — the world’s top producer — were raised to 2,800 CFA francs per kilogram for the new main-crop harvest that began Oct. 1.