Barry Callebaut, the world's biggest chocolate maker, said it would increase its cocoa processing capacities in the Ivory Coast after securing a series of large outsourcing deals, sending its shares higher.
Barry Callebaut said on Tuesday it would increase capacity by more than 50 percent in the country over the next two years as a result of rising demand and would also increase the number of cocoa beans sourced directly from farmers and co-operatives.
Barry Callebaut, which produces chocolate for other food companies, has this year won three large supply contracts with Nestle, Hershey and Cadbury.
By 0757 GMT, shares in the group had risen 3.18 percent to 844.50 Swiss francs, adding to the 35 percent gained so far this year and reversing recent losses after the group warned that higher cocoa prices would weigh on full-year results.
"This has confirmed the trend for large food manufacturers to increasingly outsource cocoa production through to the manufacturing of finished products, and we expect further outsourcing volumes to come onto the market," said Vontobel analyst Claudia Lenz.