Extreme weather events in the tropical African region that produces almost two-thirds of the world's cocoa are driving the price of the food input to record levels. In a year and a half, a ton went from 2,000 to more than 6,000 dollars.
Ivory Coast and Ghana, neighbors in West Africa, together produce 60% of the planet's cocoa. Last year they experienced unusual torrential rains that caused diseases to develop in the cocoa trees and soon after a persistent drought with strong winds.