LAST week, AFP reported that luxury chocolatier Godiva would be shutting its North American stores because of a steep fall in customer foot traffic as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the same time, a Bloomberg news report said that cocoa is piling up in warehouses in the Ivory Coast the world’s largest producer of cocoa as buyers refuse to pay up for beans amid the weak demand due to the pandemic.
Guan Chong Bhd managing director and CEO Brandon Tay Hoe Lian attributes the weaker demand mainly to lower discretionary consumer spending and travel bans, which have impacted the sale of premium and gift chocolates, especially in Europe.
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