The Spark

the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist

“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx

Ordinary Speculation in Cocoa

Sep 23, 2002

One man, Anthony Ward, bought 148,000 tons of cocoa beans in a few weeks month. That amounts to seven% of all cocoa produced annually in the whole world. With the production of cocoa expected to fall by 100,000 tons this year, this thief will be able to sell his stock of cocoa beans at a much higher price.

The two countries where most cocoa is produced, Ghana and Ivory Coast, will not gain from a higher price. These two countries have been battered by price decreases over the last few years, while speculators like Ward pocket any price increase.

This speculation is completely legal. A stock market "expert" was quoted: "to speculate on the rise or fall of commodity prices is completely normal in the free market."In fact, under capitalism, one big fat multi-millionaire can strangle two poor countries–and that’s normal! No, this just shows that capitalism isn’t normal.