Get ready to pay more for chocolate: cocoa prices are breaking records due to global crop failure
World cocoa prices have hit a record high as dry weather damages crops in West Africa, BBC reports.
Cocoa prices on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday reached a new all-time high of $5874 per ton. The rapid rise in cocoa prices is already affecting consumers and putting pressure on large chocolate producers.
Since the beginning of last year, the price of cocoa has roughly doubled. This was due to low harvests in West Africa, which accounts for the bulk of the world’s supply.
The El Niño weather phenomenon has caused drier weather in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, which are the world’s two largest cocoa bean producers. Higher temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns caused by climate change can also affect the harvest.
“Traders are worried about another short production year, and this sentiment has been reinforced by El Niño, which is threatening West African crops with hot and dry weather,” said Price Futures Group analyst Jack Scoville.
Hershey, one of the world’s largest chocolate producers, expects historical cocoa prices to limit profit growth this year and does not rule out price increases.
