Asia’s Top Cocoa Grinder Hunts for Beans Amid Supply Panic
- Guan Chong scouts for cocoa beans in Ecuador, Peru, Indonesia
- Concerns are growing that suppliers may default on contracts
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Guan Chong Bhd.,one of the world’s biggest cocoa processors, is scouting for beans worldwide as bad weather and disease pummeling crops in top West African growers send prices to a record.
The Kuala Lumpur-listed company is looking to procure cocoa from countries such as Ecuador, Peru and Indonesia — all minor growers — and paying premiums to book their beans. That’s due to worries that some sellers in heavyweights like Ivory Coast and Ghana may default on supply contracts.