, the second-best performing commodity of 2013, looks set to take first place this year thanks to a supply-driven squeeze engineered by the world's top producers, according to Singapore-based brokerage Phillip Futures.
Cocoa closed out the year with gains of 26 percent, just one step behind the 27 percent rise of 2013 winner natural gas, on concerns of a global supply deficit and rising demand for the commodity that is used to make chocolate.
In the firm's 2014 agricultural commodities outlook, Phillip Futures attributed the run-up in prices to dry, unfavorable weather conditions for crop supply in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, the largest cocoa growers in the world.
(Read more: Raisin the bar: Chocolate's ingredients get harder to come by)
Sia Kambou | AFP | Getty Images
While cocoa futures kicked off 2014 nearly 3 percent lower at a more than seven-week low due to replenished supply from West-African harvests, Phillip Futures' senior commodities manager told CNBC that he believes a structural change will fundamentally change the cocoa market this year.
(Read more: Cravinga chocolate fix? Prepare to pay more)
"Cote d'Ivoire farmers used to grow cocoa but now they find that it's better to grow palm oil and rubber instead, as they provide income throughout the year whereas cocoa only provides income when you get a harvest," said Avtar Sandhu.
The brokerage expects the trend of reduced output, combined with robust consumption, to pave the way for solid cocoa gains this year.
