WEBVTT - Can African Farmers Survive Crashing Cocoa Prices

0:00:02.480 --> 0:00:07.000
<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News.

0:00:09.080 --> 0:00:13.320
<v Speaker 2>The cocoa price route continues, leaving African farmers worried.

0:00:13.880 --> 0:00:17.759
<v Speaker 1>This has never ever happened in the history of this country.

0:00:18.520 --> 0:00:22.320
<v Speaker 2>Why are we totrik coco farmers this week? Why while

0:00:22.360 --> 0:00:26.080
<v Speaker 2>weather conditions for coco farming looks good, the falling prices

0:00:26.079 --> 0:00:29.920
<v Speaker 2>could mean less income for farmers and prompt policy adjustments

0:00:30.040 --> 0:00:30.960
<v Speaker 2>by regulators.

0:00:31.280 --> 0:00:36.440
<v Speaker 1>The fumer warfare is on the haunts of every position.

0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:40.199
<v Speaker 2>That's the management teach. On today's podcast, we'll look at

0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:42.960
<v Speaker 2>the state of the coco market and how after years

0:00:43.000 --> 0:00:46.280
<v Speaker 2>of sky high prices, the falling market is causing new

0:00:46.320 --> 0:00:53.320
<v Speaker 2>problems for the world's largest cocoa producing countries. I'm Jennifer's

0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:56.760
<v Speaker 2>Abasaga and this is the Next Africa podcast, bringing you

0:00:56.840 --> 0:01:00.160
<v Speaker 2>one story each week from the continent, driving the future

0:01:00.200 --> 0:01:04.040
<v Speaker 2>of global growth with the context only Bloomberg can provide.

0:01:05.120 --> 0:01:08.800
<v Speaker 2>Joining me today is Bloomberg Soft Commodities reporter Mumbi guitar Mumby.

0:01:08.959 --> 0:01:11.080
<v Speaker 2>Always great to have you back on the podcast. Thanks

0:01:11.080 --> 0:01:14.120
<v Speaker 2>for joining us, so Mumbi. When we have had you

0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:16.800
<v Speaker 2>on the podcast before, we have talked about the sky

0:01:16.959 --> 0:01:20.560
<v Speaker 2>high cocoa prices Fortunately, I've spoken to you since then,

0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:23.399
<v Speaker 2>but here's how we ended that last discussion on the podcast.

0:01:23.800 --> 0:01:27.440
<v Speaker 1>The price is really dictated by both elements, supply and demand.

0:01:27.480 --> 0:01:30.480
<v Speaker 1>So we'll continue to focus on how much production is

0:01:30.520 --> 0:01:34.200
<v Speaker 1>coming out of africost and Ghana and how much chocolate

0:01:34.240 --> 0:01:38.080
<v Speaker 1>companies are able to still continue producing chocolate at these

0:01:38.200 --> 0:01:39.560
<v Speaker 1>really high levels.

0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:43.600
<v Speaker 2>And so now shockingly we're seeing prices going in the

0:01:43.640 --> 0:01:48.280
<v Speaker 2>complete opposite direction. Quite a roller coaster of volatility that

0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:51.800
<v Speaker 2>we've been witnessing with coco. Talk us through what's happened

0:01:51.840 --> 0:01:52.880
<v Speaker 2>from your vantage point.

0:01:54.360 --> 0:01:57.200
<v Speaker 1>You're right, Jen, it's been such a roller cost we've

0:01:57.200 --> 0:01:59.960
<v Speaker 1>pretty much wiped out the rally of twenty twenty five

0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:02.280
<v Speaker 1>and twenty twenty four, and now we are back to

0:02:02.320 --> 0:02:05.200
<v Speaker 1>the levels that we saw in twenty twenty three. I

0:02:05.240 --> 0:02:09.040
<v Speaker 1>guess what they say about higher prices curing higher prices

0:02:09.120 --> 0:02:11.520
<v Speaker 1>is true, because we've seen a lot of demand distraction.

0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:14.400
<v Speaker 1>What happened is that as chocolate t is passed on

0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:17.280
<v Speaker 1>the higher cost consumers that are cutting back on their

0:02:17.320 --> 0:02:20.880
<v Speaker 1>consumption of chocolate. At the same time, the manufacturers also

0:02:20.960 --> 0:02:23.640
<v Speaker 1>cut back on their use of coco because they wanted

0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:25.960
<v Speaker 1>to protect their bottom line. They wanted to protect their

0:02:26.000 --> 0:02:29.560
<v Speaker 1>imagin so they've ended up using less coco in their products.

0:02:29.600 --> 0:02:32.760
<v Speaker 1>I'm sure you've seen your chocolate bards have gotten smaller.

0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:36.280
<v Speaker 1>Other manufacturers have opted to remove the chocolate in their

0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:39.600
<v Speaker 1>branding and now they're just saying it's chocolate tea. All

0:02:39.680 --> 0:02:43.160
<v Speaker 1>this is taking away demand from coco. That's industrial demand

0:02:43.400 --> 0:02:47.040
<v Speaker 1>and consumer demand. And when you have higher prices, to

0:02:47.120 --> 0:02:50.680
<v Speaker 1>bring back demand, you need to have lower prices, and

0:02:50.720 --> 0:02:53.320
<v Speaker 1>that's what's causing the price correction that we are seeing

0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:54.400
<v Speaker 1>in the market right now.

0:02:55.160 --> 0:02:58.320
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, chocolate EA as a description is quite interesting for

0:02:58.880 --> 0:03:01.600
<v Speaker 2>a consumer and also I'm sure for manufacturers to adjust to.

0:03:02.000 --> 0:03:05.079
<v Speaker 2>But if we talk about what's happened with the climate,

0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:07.600
<v Speaker 2>We've spoken to you about a few bad years of

0:03:07.639 --> 0:03:11.360
<v Speaker 2>bad weather, but it seems like growing conditions have actually

0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:14.280
<v Speaker 2>improved this year. Will that be enough to turn the

0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:17.280
<v Speaker 2>tide for farmers and for them to be able to

0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:18.600
<v Speaker 2>capitalize on this moment?

0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:21.720
<v Speaker 1>I mean, it's been a series of bad weather and

0:03:21.800 --> 0:03:25.080
<v Speaker 1>now they are having good weather. That's good in the

0:03:25.120 --> 0:03:28.400
<v Speaker 1>grand scheme of things, that they'll have a much better crop. However,

0:03:28.480 --> 0:03:31.280
<v Speaker 1>when prices are falling this first, it's hard for the

0:03:31.360 --> 0:03:35.400
<v Speaker 1>farmers to capitalize. Production is not expected to recover that much.

0:03:35.720 --> 0:03:38.240
<v Speaker 1>Just because we've had good weather doesn't take away from

0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:42.000
<v Speaker 1>the diseases that are currently ravaging farms in West Africa.

0:03:42.080 --> 0:03:44.720
<v Speaker 1>It doesn't take away from the lack of investments that

0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:47.760
<v Speaker 1>has happened in the last few decades. So there's still

0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:51.360
<v Speaker 1>structural issues that continue to affect farmers. Well. The weather

0:03:51.480 --> 0:03:53.920
<v Speaker 1>is good right now, but some of the aspects that

0:03:54.120 --> 0:03:57.680
<v Speaker 1>are more structural, like diseases and under investments still remain.

0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:02.160
<v Speaker 1>They might collect a decent crop if prices do not recover.

0:04:02.280 --> 0:04:05.560
<v Speaker 1>If prices continue falling, then you don't get as much

0:04:05.640 --> 0:04:06.680
<v Speaker 1>from the crop that you have.

0:04:06.840 --> 0:04:10.400
<v Speaker 2>Is sting, which is probably why we're seeing some of

0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:15.880
<v Speaker 2>the West African producers resulting to new measures to adjust.

0:04:16.000 --> 0:04:19.120
<v Speaker 2>Can you speak to what's been happening in Ghana and

0:04:19.160 --> 0:04:22.880
<v Speaker 2>also top grower Ivory Coast as they adjust to the

0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:24.160
<v Speaker 2>falling cocoa price.

0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:26.919
<v Speaker 1>Now, I Recosts and Ghana really find themselves in a

0:04:27.040 --> 0:04:30.479
<v Speaker 1>very difficult place when the market was rallying. We've spoken

0:04:30.560 --> 0:04:34.080
<v Speaker 1>about this previously. They have a pricing mechanism in which

0:04:34.120 --> 0:04:37.320
<v Speaker 1>they set firm gate prices and those prices are locked

0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:40.520
<v Speaker 1>in for maybe six months or three months now when

0:04:40.560 --> 0:04:43.719
<v Speaker 1>the prices were rallying, they could not immediately help farmers

0:04:43.800 --> 0:04:47.200
<v Speaker 1>capitalize on those prices. Now, just when they had started

0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:51.720
<v Speaker 1>raising firm gate prices, prices on the futures market have collapsed.

0:04:52.120 --> 0:04:55.760
<v Speaker 1>Now ivery coasts and Ghana have farm gate prices that

0:04:55.839 --> 0:04:58.880
<v Speaker 1>are above the market price in the world. How do

0:04:58.920 --> 0:05:02.000
<v Speaker 1>you sustain price is that are well above what other

0:05:02.080 --> 0:05:05.120
<v Speaker 1>regions are being paid for. That's what's put them in

0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:08.279
<v Speaker 1>a really difficult place because exporters are saying, how do

0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:11.760
<v Speaker 1>we buy coco from you at five thousand dollars when

0:05:11.800 --> 0:05:15.000
<v Speaker 1>the market outside is three thousand dollars. It doesn't make

0:05:15.040 --> 0:05:18.040
<v Speaker 1>sense for us. Those margins will really be squeezed. And

0:05:18.080 --> 0:05:20.880
<v Speaker 1>now we've seen coco piling up in every court. We've

0:05:20.880 --> 0:05:23.880
<v Speaker 1>seen coco piling up in Ghana. And that's where now

0:05:23.920 --> 0:05:26.760
<v Speaker 1>the regulators are going back to the drawing board and

0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:30.279
<v Speaker 1>asking themselves difficult questions. Do we need to keep this

0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:34.279
<v Speaker 1>pricing mechanism where we lock in prices months in advance

0:05:34.560 --> 0:05:37.880
<v Speaker 1>without any insight on what happens to the market. They

0:05:37.920 --> 0:05:41.960
<v Speaker 1>did not anticipate this correction in prices. No one anticipated

0:05:42.000 --> 0:05:45.479
<v Speaker 1>that prices would fall this far this first and now

0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:48.920
<v Speaker 1>you need to reconcile what farmers are being paid and

0:05:48.960 --> 0:05:52.120
<v Speaker 1>what the market price is in the world market.

0:05:52.720 --> 0:05:55.320
<v Speaker 2>And Mambi just hold that thought. I want to dig

0:05:55.360 --> 0:05:57.320
<v Speaker 2>into that more. We're going to take a quick break

0:05:57.360 --> 0:05:59.800
<v Speaker 2>and when we come back, we'll look at what the

0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:04.120
<v Speaker 2>long term future for cocoa production could be like, especially

0:06:04.160 --> 0:06:06.920
<v Speaker 2>when it comes to the farmers. As you just brought up.

0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:18.240
<v Speaker 2>We'll be right back. Welcome back. Today we're looking into

0:06:18.360 --> 0:06:22.520
<v Speaker 2>cocoa and how West African production is adapting to cheaper

0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:26.559
<v Speaker 2>market prices. Our soft commodities reporter Mumbi Guitau is still

0:06:26.600 --> 0:06:29.360
<v Speaker 2>with us, so Mumbe. Just before the break, we were

0:06:29.400 --> 0:06:33.039
<v Speaker 2>talking about the adjustments and the shifts that we're seeing

0:06:33.080 --> 0:06:36.840
<v Speaker 2>Ghana and Ivory Coast, talking about considering the volatility in

0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:39.320
<v Speaker 2>the market when we talk about the farm gate price,

0:06:39.880 --> 0:06:44.120
<v Speaker 2>were the farmers ever able to capitalize on some of

0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:46.760
<v Speaker 2>the higher prices when they were at their peak.

0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:51.560
<v Speaker 1>Only regions where the markets are liberalized, like Cameroon, Nigeria,

0:06:51.720 --> 0:06:55.880
<v Speaker 1>Brazil Ecuadora able to capture the high prices. Farmers in

0:06:55.960 --> 0:06:59.479
<v Speaker 1>Ivery Coast in Ghana did not capture those high prices. Yes,

0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:02.520
<v Speaker 1>the regular late has raised prices in the last few

0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:05.920
<v Speaker 1>months and in the last few seasons, but that has

0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:10.040
<v Speaker 1>not completely translated to them capturing the whole rally. At

0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:12.680
<v Speaker 1>some point last year or in twenty twenty four, we

0:07:12.800 --> 0:07:17.000
<v Speaker 1>had prices reached twelve thousand dollars a ton. The highest

0:07:17.040 --> 0:07:19.760
<v Speaker 1>farm gate price that every cost and Ghana have gotten

0:07:19.840 --> 0:07:23.360
<v Speaker 1>to is about five five hundred dollars a ton, So

0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:25.640
<v Speaker 1>there's still a lot that they were not able to

0:07:25.680 --> 0:07:28.000
<v Speaker 1>capture when the market was really high.

0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:31.200
<v Speaker 2>Which is quite unfortunate, especially when you think about some

0:07:31.280 --> 0:07:34.160
<v Speaker 2>of these contracts that were not able to be fulfilled

0:07:34.200 --> 0:07:36.840
<v Speaker 2>for some of the farmers. Potentially that's the reason why

0:07:37.400 --> 0:07:40.040
<v Speaker 2>we're seeing some of the reaction. I mean, how do

0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:41.400
<v Speaker 2>you interpret it, Mumby.

0:07:41.640 --> 0:07:44.680
<v Speaker 1>It's such a lossful farmers in every coast and Ghana.

0:07:44.800 --> 0:07:48.080
<v Speaker 1>They missed out when the prices were rallying, and now

0:07:48.120 --> 0:07:51.720
<v Speaker 1>they're going to even suffer as prices are falling. As

0:07:51.760 --> 0:07:55.240
<v Speaker 1>you've painted the picture in every coast, farmers are sitting

0:07:55.280 --> 0:07:58.080
<v Speaker 1>on cocor that no one wants to buy. And as

0:07:58.080 --> 0:08:02.239
<v Speaker 1>for reasons I explained earlier, wouldn't exporter pay much more

0:08:02.680 --> 0:08:06.080
<v Speaker 1>in a market where you're not guaranteed to be receiving

0:08:06.120 --> 0:08:09.600
<v Speaker 1>as much from your buyers. And I think now farmers

0:08:09.640 --> 0:08:13.360
<v Speaker 1>are looking at a situation where they are stuck. They

0:08:13.360 --> 0:08:17.080
<v Speaker 1>are left in a situation where they don't benefit regardless

0:08:17.120 --> 0:08:20.480
<v Speaker 1>of whichever direction the market moves, whether in their favor

0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:23.560
<v Speaker 1>or against their favor, They're still very stark in a

0:08:23.560 --> 0:08:24.320
<v Speaker 1>bad situation.

0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:28.680
<v Speaker 2>What do you make, Mumbi of what the authorities have

0:08:28.760 --> 0:08:31.320
<v Speaker 2>been saying about the latest prices?

0:08:31.920 --> 0:08:35.280
<v Speaker 1>You really sit and you feel for the authorities because

0:08:35.320 --> 0:08:39.079
<v Speaker 1>they are stuck to a traditional model that worked for

0:08:39.120 --> 0:08:42.640
<v Speaker 1>them when the market was not volatile, when the market

0:08:42.720 --> 0:08:45.679
<v Speaker 1>barely moved fifty dollars a day. Now we have a

0:08:45.720 --> 0:08:49.520
<v Speaker 1>market that's moving five hundred dollars two hundred dollars a day.

0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:52.439
<v Speaker 1>So in a market where the market was more predictable,

0:08:52.840 --> 0:08:56.120
<v Speaker 1>that model makes sense. Now it's becoming harder for them

0:08:56.160 --> 0:08:59.920
<v Speaker 1>to defend this model in such volatile times. When you

0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:03.199
<v Speaker 1>set up price in October only for it to now

0:09:03.240 --> 0:09:05.800
<v Speaker 1>be changed again in March, how do you stand by

0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:09.840
<v Speaker 1>that position when between October and match the futures market

0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:12.880
<v Speaker 1>is moving wild. When we started the season we were

0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:16.520
<v Speaker 1>at seven five hundred. Right now we are just in

0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:19.720
<v Speaker 1>the middle of the season and we are at three thousand.

0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:23.319
<v Speaker 1>Farm gate prices haven't moved an inch during that period,

0:09:23.440 --> 0:09:26.199
<v Speaker 1>apart from Ghana, which recently cut its firm geit price.

0:09:26.440 --> 0:09:28.800
<v Speaker 1>So when I look at the authorities, I just keep

0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:32.600
<v Speaker 1>asking myself, how do you continue to defend a policy

0:09:32.679 --> 0:09:35.640
<v Speaker 1>that is not working for you and for the farmers

0:09:35.720 --> 0:09:36.520
<v Speaker 1>that you're there.

0:09:36.360 --> 0:09:40.400
<v Speaker 2>To protect sure and especially if this is a moment

0:09:40.600 --> 0:09:44.080
<v Speaker 2>that they haven't been faced with before, Right, Mambia, is

0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:48.480
<v Speaker 2>this something once in a generation shift that we're seeing?

0:09:48.520 --> 0:09:51.880
<v Speaker 2>Will this potentially set the precedent for the future our

0:09:51.920 --> 0:09:54.920
<v Speaker 2>soft commodities? As a soft commodity reporter, are you used

0:09:54.960 --> 0:09:56.679
<v Speaker 2>to this type of volatility and the up and down?

0:09:56.720 --> 0:09:59.719
<v Speaker 2>I mean, what do you think this moment maybe symbolizes?

0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:03.160
<v Speaker 2>Considering some of those characterizations you just mentioned.

0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:05.400
<v Speaker 1>I think for being in the market, we are very

0:10:05.480 --> 0:10:10.120
<v Speaker 1>used to saying un chartered territories, unprecedented times. But these

0:10:10.160 --> 0:10:12.640
<v Speaker 1>for most veterans that I have spoken to, people that

0:10:12.880 --> 0:10:15.319
<v Speaker 1>have been in the market for forty years say they

0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:18.120
<v Speaker 1>have never seen anything like this. The volatility in the

0:10:18.200 --> 0:10:21.320
<v Speaker 1>market is like anything they have ever seen, where the

0:10:21.360 --> 0:10:26.800
<v Speaker 1>market is moving wild So This has really introduced traders, regulators, farmers,

0:10:27.160 --> 0:10:31.000
<v Speaker 1>manufacturers into a very new area that they don't have

0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:34.679
<v Speaker 1>experience in. Everyone is just trying to learn as they go,

0:10:35.080 --> 0:10:38.240
<v Speaker 1>and it's hard to say whether this will be the

0:10:38.360 --> 0:10:42.280
<v Speaker 1>market for the foreseeable futures. I think demand is still

0:10:42.480 --> 0:10:46.240
<v Speaker 1>a big question. Does industrial demand come back that these

0:10:46.440 --> 0:10:49.680
<v Speaker 1>prices are falling back? Do consumers come back and buy

0:10:49.720 --> 0:10:53.319
<v Speaker 1>a lot more chocolate? Do regulators change the way they function?

0:10:53.520 --> 0:10:57.560
<v Speaker 1>Ghana has said they will just domestic prices depending on

0:10:57.600 --> 0:11:00.120
<v Speaker 1>what happens in the futures market. Is that going to

0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:03.040
<v Speaker 1>be the way forward. If we start to see these

0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:07.079
<v Speaker 1>structural changes stick, then volatility is going to be the

0:11:07.160 --> 0:11:09.120
<v Speaker 1>name of the game going forward.

0:11:09.520 --> 0:11:13.640
<v Speaker 2>And let's just finish then on demand. Will consumers see

0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:16.960
<v Speaker 2>this in the short term? Will mumbeego to the store

0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:19.560
<v Speaker 2>and start to see falling prices? I mean, when does

0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:24.000
<v Speaker 2>this hit the reality the day to day for people

0:11:24.360 --> 0:11:28.160
<v Speaker 2>and consumers. Who these manufacturers and producers really need to

0:11:28.520 --> 0:11:29.360
<v Speaker 2>turn the tide.

0:11:29.760 --> 0:11:32.400
<v Speaker 1>That's a big question, But at least in the short term,

0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:35.720
<v Speaker 1>it takes time. There's usually between a six months to

0:11:35.760 --> 0:11:39.640
<v Speaker 1>twelve months lag effect, just because prices are falling on

0:11:39.679 --> 0:11:43.640
<v Speaker 1>the terminal market doesn't mean that prices for the consumers

0:11:43.840 --> 0:11:46.679
<v Speaker 1>will fall immediately. We didn't see the same price in

0:11:46.760 --> 0:11:51.280
<v Speaker 1>chocolate prices when futures were rising because right now manufacturers

0:11:51.320 --> 0:11:54.400
<v Speaker 1>are still walking through stock piles that were bought at

0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:57.800
<v Speaker 1>six thousand, seven thousand levels. No, we may not see

0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:00.199
<v Speaker 1>short term relief, but as we go to us the

0:12:00.280 --> 0:12:02.920
<v Speaker 1>end of the year, we might see more promotions, we

0:12:03.000 --> 0:12:06.000
<v Speaker 1>might see a bit more discount. But for now, we've

0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:11.360
<v Speaker 1>just stuck with expensive chocolate until manufacturers start to input

0:12:11.480 --> 0:12:13.239
<v Speaker 1>chipper coco in their supplies.

0:12:14.480 --> 0:12:17.600
<v Speaker 2>Mumby, thanks again, we always love having it on the podcast.

0:12:17.600 --> 0:12:22.679
<v Speaker 2>That's Bloomberg's Soft Commodities reporter Mumbi Katan. Here's some of

0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:25.679
<v Speaker 2>the other stories we've been following across the region this week.

0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:29.760
<v Speaker 2>Kenya's Central Bank still has room to cut its benchmark

0:12:29.840 --> 0:12:33.120
<v Speaker 2>interest rate after lowering it ten times in the past

0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:36.240
<v Speaker 2>one and a half years to help spur economic growth.

0:12:36.480 --> 0:12:40.520
<v Speaker 2>That's according to Governor Kama Fugi. A stable currency, but

0:12:40.679 --> 0:12:44.400
<v Speaker 2>nine oil prices and a forecast of abundant rains will

0:12:44.400 --> 0:12:48.080
<v Speaker 2>help the Central Bank of East Africa's biggest economy maintain

0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:53.440
<v Speaker 2>its accommodative policy and Butswana's inflation will peak at just

0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:57.000
<v Speaker 2>over five percent this year, down from a December forecast

0:12:57.080 --> 0:13:01.479
<v Speaker 2>of six point two percent, due to quote stabilizing exchange

0:13:01.559 --> 0:13:05.800
<v Speaker 2>rate dynamics. That's according to the Bank of Botswana Governor

0:13:06.080 --> 0:13:11.000
<v Speaker 2>the Sego Museki. And you can follow these stories across Bloomberg,

0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:13.839
<v Speaker 2>including the Next African Newsletter, will of course put a

0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:19.920
<v Speaker 2>link to that in the show notes. This program was

0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:23.439
<v Speaker 2>produced by Adrian Bradley and tiba Adebayo. Don't forget to

0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:26.920
<v Speaker 2>follow and review the show wherever you usually get your podcasts,

0:13:27.240 --> 0:13:30.480
<v Speaker 2>But for now I'm Jennifer's Apostaja. Thanks as always for listening.